


The Republic University of Absolute Chaos

by Wish_ika



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Absolute chaos family, Alternate Universe - College/University, Aromantic, Bisexuality, Clones, Clones are all family, Clones being bros, Cody is so done, Coffee, Dex's Diner, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Family Reunions, First Dates, Football | Soccer, Games, Gay, Gay Panic, Glitter, Good Parent Jango Fett, Group chat, Lesbian Character, M/M, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Character, Parent Jango Fett, Rex is too, Sibling Bonding, Wolffe is a little shit, adopted family, idiot siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:34:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 94,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24001423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wish_ika/pseuds/Wish_ika
Summary: Cody attends Republic University, where he is dragged into a Games night by his annoying brother. There he meets Obi Wan, a stunningly hot guy. Chaos ensures. Probably due to the fact that his brothers are absolute maniacs. Anakin and Ahsoka not being much better.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CC-2224 | Cody & Boba Fett, CC-2224 | Cody & CC-3636 | Wolffe, CC-2224 | Cody & CT-21-0408 | Echo, CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-5052 | Bly/Aayla Secura, CC-6454 | Ponds/Mace Windu, CT-21-0408 | Echo & Ahsoka Tano, CT-27-5555 | Fives | ARC-5555 & Ahsoka Tano, Kaeden Larte/Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Riyo Chuchi/CC-1010 | Fox
Comments: 60
Kudos: 301





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is to cure my post season 7 depression

Cody has no idea how he got here. Its one in the morning, and he has a mug of coffee the size of his head in his hands. The raggedy old computer with his 8, 000-word essay, which was due at 9 that morning and was meant to have at least 12, 000 words, lies discarded on a table groaning from paperwork. His idiot twin is lying on the floor, still passed out. Some how that nut head thought it was a good idea to take an insane amount of caffeine and mix it with a series of energy drinks. The resulting concoction had given him a strange burst of energy for a single day, then he had crashed. Hard. Cody is so stressed and tired that he doesn’t even feel like drawing on his twin’s face.  
Stuff history. Most useless boring subject ever. He has to admit that he’s reached the point where chugging another mug of coffee won’t even pick him up. He’s so screwed. Hopefully, there are some sugary snacks in the cupboards. Maybe a sugar high would help him. Wait, Kix wouldn’t let them buy sugar. Understandable after that incident with Hardcase when he last visited. Cody’s head falls forward and smacks the shitty table. His mug, balanced precariously on the stack of books, tips and falls, almost in slow motion, towards his ratty computer. He lunges forward and attempts to grab the mug. It doesn’t work. The impact sets his soul cringing and the computer lets out one final hiss and goes dark. Fuck.  
The stairs almost mock him as he descends to the Common Room of the Coruscant dorms. ‘Keep backups of your work’. A clearly lit neon poster proclaims. Well fuck. He really damn hopes that his younger brother is down here. He leans round the flimsy door and can’t immediately spot Echo or Fives. Where one Terror Twin is, the other isn’t far behind. The dorms then. Echo and Fives’s dorm is a big contrast. One side, Echo’s, is neat, books stacked, and bed made. The other side has clothes everywhere and random papers on every surface. Typical Fives.  
“Echo? I need help.”  
“What cute boy have you seen this time?” Echo rolls his eyes playfully, not diverting any of his energy away from his game.  
“I spilt my coffee on my computer and my essay due today is on there and Dad will kill me if I fail another essay.” Cody rushes the words out, as if blurring them will make them less damming. Echo blinks then pauses the game and rips off his headset.  
“Ok Cody. I’ll fix it on one condition.” Echo smiles, knowing that Cody really doesn’t have a choice. Cody gives him a sharp look. “You come to a gaming club night. You’d like it.” Cody hesitates and sticks out his hand.  
“You fix my computer and we have a deal.” Echo’s previous smile stretches to the point of an absolutely maniacal one. Cody definitely feels like he’s going to regret that deal.

By the time Echo has gotten the files off his wrecked computer, the school library was finally open. Cody chose to escape the room he shares with his very loudly snoring twin and practically bolts to the library.  
Its his favourite place to go. Plush carpets and books everywhere. The fluffy chairs almost make up for the no food and drink rule. Almost. Rows of computers line the walls and he quickly power one up. Its 5 am, the essay is due at 9 and he has 4,000 words left to write. Well fuck. He’s just going to bullshit it.  
Its 8.45 when he finally finishes the essay. With a triumphant grin he presses send then swings around on his chair as a way of celebrating. The doors buzz behind him and he almost lets his head smack straight into the keyboard.  
“Cody! What are you doing here? I looked everywhere for you.” Wolffe sounds too awake for this time in the morning. Most Fetts are night owls. Wolffe must have had a ton of coffee. But if Wolffe was purposely seeking him out then something was happening.  
“Wolffe. What the fuck do you want now?”  
“Nothing. But Plo asked me to pass on a tip. Fett clan is doing a surprise inspection. At 9.” Wolffe’s knowing smile stretches to a shit eating grin. Surprise inspection. Fuck. He really didn’t like that military habit Jango had picked up. He yanks his phone off a charger and into his hand as Wolffe saunters away. Smug bastard.  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Codes: Plo says surprise inspection. At 9.  
BLyndly in love: Fuck. They couldn’t have chosen a day I didn’t have Aayla over.  
Foxy Furry: Suck a dick.  
Blyndly in love: No u  
Echo echo echo: Well if you morons cleaned your rooms more than once a year (I’m looking at you Fives), then you wouldn’t be panicking  
High Fives: Fuck off.  
Codes: Everyone clean your fucking rooms. 

Satisfied that he got the message out there, Cody pushes his chair back. He has nothing to worry about. Rex will clean his oh fuck. Rex is unconscious. He slaps himself in the forehead and bolts for the corridor. In times like these, Cody really wishes the campus weren’t so damn big and that the elevators weren’t broken.  
His room is a fucking mess. Coffee on the table, dripping onto the floor and books everywhere. And Rex is still unconscious.  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Codes: Kix I need help.  
Kixystix: I’m not cleaning your damn room.  
Codes: Rex took 8 cups of full-strength coffee and some energy drink and he mixed them and now he’s unconscious  
Kixystix: Fucks sake

Cody had chucked the mugs in the dishwasher and tidied the tables by the time Kix was there. His younger brother had taken one look at Rex and swore in three languages. Cody hadn’t understood shit of it, but the sentiment was pretty clear. He had shoved Rex into a bed and told Cody that he had a concussion from collapsing on to the floor. Then he had stormed out to go and yell at Jesse. Typical  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Jesse messy: Jango’s here. Checking our room right now. Hardcase and Tup are here too.  
Comety: Plo’s just checked my room. Look out Sinker.  
Stinky Sinky: Oh fuck  
Boosted: If I were to hypothetically hide some stuff, I didn’t want Dad seeing, where’s the best place?  
Ponds: Maintenance cupboard near Common Room. Floor 5.  
Blyndly in love: And how the fuck do you know that?  
Ponds: Mace and I made out in there once. It was fun  
Foxy Furry: I know you’re my brother and Bly asked a stupid question, but now I want to bleach my eyes. Did not need to know that

Cody can’t fucking believe this. If Kix hadn’t said that Rex had a concussion, he would’ve believed he was faking it. But no. The medical student had confirmed. And now Cody had less than 5 min to clean his brothers’ room.  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Echo echo echo: Fives is getting roasted and scolded at the same time. It’s pretty fucking hilarious.  
Jesse messy: Oh shit. What’d he do now?  
Echo echo echo: You guys know how Sinker gave him THAT GIFT on his birthday? Yeah. Dad found that.  
Wooooolffe: Fuck. Jango losing his shit? Plo would never  
Codes: Stop saying you have the cool parent.

The dorm room door bursts open and his two youngest brothers race in. Well, more accurately, Hardcase speeds in and tackles Cody, while Tup calm walks after him, chatting into his phone. Then Jango is there. Cody’s dad, a former military man, somehow commands the room. From the wicked curving scar on his cheek to the way he walks, everything about Jango screams business. Probably why Cody is kind of nervous.  
“Cody. Where’s Rex? This is your shared room.” He pulls Hardcase off of Cody and embraces him.  
“He’s unconscious. Concussion.” Jango’s calm expression turns to worry and fear for his son. “Don’t worry dad. Kix said that he’ll be fine.”  
“How did he get that?” Concern stains Jango’s tone, and he pushes open the door to their shared bedroom. Everything is stacked away and tidied. “Hardcase, Tup go bully Fives about the incident” He hears footsteps hooning down the corridor then a burst of swearing from a voice clearly recognised as Krell, the campus bully. Honestly. Swearing at kids? Not cool.  
“He stayed up late working on his project. I think he tripped on his way back to bed.” Jango’s piercing eyes scan Cody, and then the room.  
“Am I to assume that you didn’t stay up late.” Cody freezes, as a knowing smile appears on his Dad’s face “The coffee cups in the sink. The books on the table. The unused bed. The bags under your eyes large enough to store a house. The fact that you are absolutely not a morning person and yet here you are, perfectly awake.” Damn. His dad is good. He can see why all the shiny troops were scared of him. He doesn’t miss anything.  
"In my defence, had I known you were coming, I would’ve slept. But I had work to do.” Oh fuck. Why did he say that?  
“Work?”  
“Yeah. Had an essay that was due. Finished it earlier. Was on the history of warfare. Rex finished his yesterday. Plus, my computer broke again.” Half-truth. Hopefully, Echo didn’t tell him.  
“Fine. Echo told me about your computer. He reckons he can fix it.” Jango starts for the door before turning around and embracing Cody. “I’m proud of you son. Prouder than you know.”  
“I know dad.” Cody returns the hug then closes the door behind his dad. His phone is on the counter and he scrambles for it before opening up the Group Chat  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Comety: The Wolf pack is going for ice cream bitches. As a reward. But its only Boost and I. Sinker and Wolffe are in the naughty corner.  
Stinky Sinky: Not fucking fair  
Boiling with anger: No fair. Alpha won’t let us go out for ice-cream. He thinks ‘Its setting a bad example for Wooley and Crys’ Bullshit. Alpha drinks enough coffee to kill an ordinary person. How the fuck is ice cream bad?  
Heelix: With the amount you eat, it is definitely bad for you  
Waxering: Suck it Boil.  
Boiling with anger: Fuck you guys.  
Jesse messy: Le gasp. The rudeness  
Kixystix: Can this group chat be quiet for one god damn minute?  
Codes: Kix, when will Rex wake up?  
Kixystix: He was faking the concussion. Tup tipped him off about inspections. So, he faked a concussion and called in a favour from me so he wouldn’t have to clean  
Codes: That little shit. I am no longer not going to draw on his face. He fucking deserves it.  
Wooooolffe: DEW IT  
Foxy Furry: Execute Order 66. Kill your brother.  
Codes: What should I draw?  
Jesse messy: Dicks. Lots and lots of dicks  
High Fives: Then send us a photo and it’ll be Rex’s dick pic.  
Echo echo echo: What the actual fuck Fives  
Codes: Done  
Codes: attachment png-Rex-dick-face-pick  
Codes: Everyone get a screenshot or save that. Blackmail Bitches. Wolffe, still up for revenge from that time with the dye?  
Wooooolffe: Fuck yeah! REVENGE  
Blyndly in love: Can you guys all shut the fuck up. Aayla and I are trying to chat, and my phone keeps ringing and I can hear Wolffe howling  
Foxy Furry: Are you and Aayla trying to BONE? In our good Christian dorms?  
Ponds: Fox. I’m fairly sure you have no idea about anything to do with religion. You are not even religious.  
Foxy Furry: Suck a fucking fat one Ponds  
Boba Tea: Why the fucking hell am I still on this group chat?  
Echo echo echo: Because you are part of the Fett clan  
Boba Tea: Then why aren’t Hardcase and Tup and the other little kids on here?  
Echo echo echo: Because I made it so Rex couldn’t add them. And because Kix threatened me.  
High Fives: What’d he says?  
Echo echo echo: He threatened to cut off my balls with a scalpel.  
Jesse messy: Kix you didn’t  
Kixystix: Yes, I did. And that will apply to anyone who attempts to add them to this chat. Don’t fucking test me.  
Kixystix: Attachment png-Sharpening-a-scalpel  
Waxering: Holy fuck  
Boiling with anger: And I thought Helix was scary  
Comety: Anyone else notice that Cody and Wolffe aren’t active?  
Stinky Sinky: Yeah. Not normal.  
Wooooolffe: Look. I’m flattered that you guys care about me, but I’m preoccupied at the moment.  
Kixystix: What in the flipping hells was that?  
Blyndly in love: ANYONE WANNA EXPLAIN WHY A HALF NAKED REX JUST SCREAMING WENT DOWN THE CORRIDOR? OR DO I HAVE TO GET REX ON THE GC  
Smexy Rexy: THEY FUCKING POURED ICE INTO MY PANTS!! CODY AND WOLFFE. CONSIDER THIS A WARNING  
Codes: Serves you right for faking a concussion and forcing me to clean  
Wooooolffe: Attachment Rex-ice-down-pants-baby-screams-video  
Smexy Rexy: Delete that now or so help me god.  
Echo echo echo: Cody. Your computer is fixed. Looks like you’re coming to gaming club night  
Pond: Speaking of gaming club night, when’s our next movie night? Isn’t Ghost hosting?  
Jesse messy: You’re trending Rex. Search screaming republic student with ice in his pants  
Smexy Rexy: WHICH ONE OF YOU FUCKING POSTED THAT  
Codes: Fine Echo. I’ll come to the gaming club. Rex, wasn’t me  
Wooooolffe: Catch me if you can Rex  
Blyndly in love: Someone please fucking explain why two of my cousins are wrestling in the corridor outside my room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody gets dragged along to that games night. Unsuprisingly, someone gave his little brothers glitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Cody really doesn’t know how this happened. His little brother is technically right. Echo did fix his computer when he needed the files off it. And Cody did swear to go to a gaming club night with him in return. But when he was thinking of a gaming club, he didn’t think it would be Wii Sports Resort and Just Dance. But hey, if Echo and Fives organised it, that was the probably the least surprising thing that would happen tonight.   
His crazy little brothers had gotten all of the insaneness from the Fett side. Their mother had been logical and the polar opposite of Jango. The Fett boys had all inherited the same chaotic ways, and most of them had gotten no sense of self preservation. And now Cody was at the absolute centre of those ways. Echo and Fives’s combined single braincell must have been working ridiculously hard to create this. Confetti and glitter are all over the many many beanbags on the floor. Those beanbags face a stage, and a single wide screen sits on the stage. Jeez. His brothers were nuts.  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Codes: Help. Someone get me out of here. Please.  
Echo echo echo: Nope. You swore. It’s your own fault. If you hadn’t knocked coffee onto your computer, you wouldn’t have had to sell your soul to me in order to fix it.  
Smexy Rexy: Fuck Cody. Haven’t you learnt by now not to make deals with the Fett Clan since that incident with Crys? He was 12 and he somehow blackmailed you. How the hell did you let this happen? I thought you had common sense now.  
Code: Well Rex, my most darling brother, how’d you manage to forget? Oh, that’s right. You faked a concussion and bailed on me when Dad was doing an inspection day. You know, like any good brother would. I made a deal with Echo so Dad wouldn’t kill me for failing an essay.   
Wooooolffe: He has you by the balls there Rex.  
Boba Tea: Please don’t mention balls. You’ll get Kix on my ass.  
Kixystix: Oh Wolffe. Thank you so much for reminding me. So, Boba, either you apologize and swear me a favour, or I cut off your balls with a rusty scalpel. Your choice, my darling brother.  
Boba Tea: Fuck. Where are my fake passports? I need to flee the country.   
Jesse messy: He would find you anyway. He’s like a damn demon. Your only hope is to apologise now and pray for forgiveness.

Cody snorts and then yelps in annoyance as Fives snatches his phone from his hand.  
“Give me back my god damn phone right now you bastard.” Fives grins, pressing the off button and pocketing it, before turning to welcome some people. Cody lashes his leg out towards Fives’s shin and isn’t surprised when his little shit of a brother leaps over it. But he is surprised when someone tackles Fives. And even more surprised when it isn’t Echo, but a small tanned girl in overalls. And he’s somehow even more surprised when they instantly start to wrestle each other. Fives has always fought his brothers, but this little girl somehow manages to pin his arms down. Holy shit. Echo, summoned by the chaos, lunges forward and grabs Fives, dragging him away from the girl. Then a tall guy with tan skin, long hair and a scar down one side of his face appears from behind Cody and grabs the back of the girl’s overalls with a metal hand and pulls her up in the air by it.  
“Come on Ahsoka. What did we say about tackling people when they aren’t expecting it?” His voice is joking, and the suspended girl leans around to glare at him before crossing her arms defiantly.  
“I believe the words you are searching for Ahsoka is to not.” The melodical voice hits Cody’s ears and he immediately wants to meet its owner. Fives kicks at Echo and they begin to wrestle each other. Cody lunges forward and grabs each one of his little brothers by the collar, before hauling them apart. The girl (Ahsoka?) begins to kick at the guy restraining her who in turn just grabs her legs and swings her upside down. An amused laugh rings out and Cody nearly drops his brothers in a gay panic.  
“Now now Anakin. I don’t really think its fair to do this to Ahsoka. All she did was tackle her friend.” The man the voice belongs to is honestly the most amazing looking person he has ever seen. Orangey red hair shines on a pale skinned face. His eyes are the most amazing shade of ocean blue that he has ever seen. Little flecks of grey shine in it and the eyes are alight with an amused light. He is wearing a light brown hoodie with the red Republic crest in the centre, matched with pale grey jeans that show off his amazing legs. Cody wasn’t currently holding his younger twins away from each other, he would’ve dropped into the foetal position and cried in gay panic.   
“Come on guys. Let us have some fun.” The girl groans and swings herself up in the air. Somehow, she manages to look disgruntled while being held in the air by her feet.   
“Yeah Cody. Listen to Ahsoka.” Fives turns his head and pokes his tongue out at him. Cody is so done with this bull shit. Without a word, he drops his grip on Fives collar. His sibling hightails it out of there. The scarred guy follows his lead and releases his grip on Ahsoka’s legs. She flops to the floor in an undignified tangle of limbs.  
“Cody huh? Nice name.” The amazing looking guy swings his eyes around to Cody and looks him us and down. If Cody’s heart didn’t just fucking stop. Shit. Echo shoves himself away from his older brother while he’s distracted and grabs his phone. Oh shit. Well if this wasn’t bad enough, Echo was probably going to scream it to the world over group chat. Meh. He was already screwed; he might as well ask.  
“Echo. Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Echo glances up from his phone and rolls his eyes.  
“Cody, this is Ahsoka. She’s an honorary Trouble Twin. The long-haired emo with the cool hand is Anakin. He is doing mechanics, and we met over a project and 56 hours without sleep. And the hunk is Obi Wan. He’s single so knock yourself out.” Cody chokes on his breath. Jeez. This annoying little shit of a brother.  
“Echo! Get your arse onstage!” Fives’s voice, ringing with feedback, punches through his thoughts. Who in their right fucking mind gave him a microphone? Not to his surprise, Echo sprints for the stage before Cody could grab him.  
“Gamers. Tonight, we play two of the most iconic games ever. Just Dance and Wii Sports Resort! Now I’m sure that many of you have been training for this since a young age. But we have new contenders tonight! My own bitchy brother, Cody, and Anakin’s roommate, Obi Wan! So, my friends, grab a partner. Because we are doing Just Dance Couples dances first!” Fives always did have a flair for the dramatic. And a confetti cannon apparently. Cody quickly glares at his brothers, who’s matching shit eating grins grow even bigger. He swears that he’ll murder them later. A hand catches his shoulder and he whips around to see Obi Wan.  
“Hey. I figured that since we’re both new that we could partner up?” Obi Wan sounds hopeful, as if scared that Cody would be cruel, and turn him down. There’s no way in hell he would turn down a chance to dance with one of the hottest guys he’s ever seen.  
“Sure.” Obi’s face splits into a grin. Oh Cody. What the hell did you just do. A piece of paper is passed to them and they quickly agree on a team name.  
“Alright! Everyone calm the fuck down!” Echo’s voice spikes above the rowdy crowd. A glitter bomb is tossed at the twins and they both duck. Obviously being around Hardcase had taught them well “I fucking saw that Hunt. Don’t you dare assume that I won’t make your ass clean up that mess. Now that everyone is listening, the rounds will be amazingly simple. You and your partner dance, and the game gives you a score. The team with the lowest score is eliminated and so on. It’s a dance battle!” Yeah right. A dance battle on several drugs would be more accurate. Someone chucks a hat at Fives and he yanks out a slip of paper.  
“Our first contender is our newest members! Please welcome the Confetti Cannons!” Cody sighs, of course his baby brother would toss his ass under the bus. The mass of people lounging on the floor separates as he and Obi walk toward the stage. Oh. If he’s going to dance, he might have to lose the hoodie. So, he does the normal thing and yanks it off. Cody has some muscles; he exercises enough for that. He, like most of the Fett clan, is built on the tall and speedy side. If he notices Obi’s eyes staring at his abdomen and the tight orange and yellow shirt, he pretends not to notice. Then Obi shucks off his own hoodie and Cody nearly faints on the spot. He has abs. Honest to god. If a little bit of drool had escaped Cody’s mouth, he wouldn’t be complaining.  
The music starts. Oh damn. He’s definitely going to think up some type of cruel torture for his brother. Fives is standing by the computer, holding up his thumbs up. Cody wants nothing more than to flip him off. But the dance has started and regardless of the fact that the song is called ‘You can’t hurry love’ , Obi is hurrying to get into the correct moves. He moves to catch up with his partner. Obi is pretty darn bad. Cody can’t help but snicker as Obi goes to turn and nearly falls flat on his face. When the chorus comes, he realises that he is meant to reach forward and spin Obi around. The glowing gold glove icon on the screen seems to be mocking him. Screw fair. After this, its going to be no holds barred on both Echo and Fives. But as his dance partner looks at him expectantly, he reaches out and goes to spin him. Cody really can’t get out of this one. Despite the full-on gay panic that is engulfing him, he some how manages to spin Obi and get back into the patterns of the steps.   
The multi coloured Fluro lights that his bothers had strung all over the stage flash in time with the music. That has to be Echo’s doing. His little brother has always been the most technology understanding in the household. It really could be worse than this. He’s dancing with a hot guy, who he is fairly sure was flirting with him earlier, to a duet about love. Maybe he’ll thank Echo and Fives. After he gives them some bruises. Especially Fives. That little shit is standing by the computer, filming it. Probably to send it to that damn group chat.   
Obi spins into his arms again, and Cody just wants to stare into those soft eyes forever. Something arcs through the air in front of the stage. Instinct (and years of living with Fetts) kicks in and he tackles Obi Wan off the stage. The object impacts on the back of Cody’s shirt and showers him with something small and shiny. Little pieces rain down around him. Its strangely glittery? Oh, for fucks sake. A glitter bomb. He had made his brothers swear a pact to not fucking use glitter. It’s a cruel and unusual form of torture. Looking up, he sees how Echo got around that rule. His little brother is standing by the person who threw a glitter bomb at them earlier. Cody thinks his name is Hunt. Hunt is high fiving Echo and Fives is filming. Of fucking course. Those little shits. Obi taps his shoulder and his attention whips back to the man pinned under him.   
“Hello there.” Oh shit.  
Cody quickly rolls to the side and helps Obi stand up. The man looks around him and at Cody and starts cackling with laughter. He blinks. Never has he ever seen someone nearly choke and not be able to breathe from such a simple a prank as glitter. If anything, that just made him 10 times more attractive. He leans down and bows to the crowd as they all howl with laughter. Then he does the only thing he can do and sweeps Obi Wan off his feet and into his arms. The man is surprisingly light and curls deeper into his arms.   
They reach their beanbags relatively quickly and Cody places Obi down, face burning like the sun. The next competitors are ok. Then it’s Anakin and Ahsoka doing some sort of insanely acrobatic dance. Both of them move as if they have done this sort of thing multiple times. Something brushes his hair and he quickly turns. Obi Wan freezes in place, caught it the act of brushing glitter off Cody’s hair. Both of them look at each other, awkwardness almost tangible.  
“I want to say thanks. Glitter is a bitch to get out of hair.” Obi lets a small smile on to his face, and Cody can’t help himself from smiling in return.  
“Its fine. This is normal for the Fetts.”   
“Ah. The famous Fett clan. Isn’t there a hell of a lot of you?” Obi’s hand has returned to Cody’s hair, and continues to brush out the neon flecks of glitter. He fights the instinct to lean into the hand.  
“Yeah. Some of them don’t respect the Fett Pact. It clearly states that no glitter will be used in pranks. Obviously, Fives and Echo are bastards for breaking that rule.”   
“Ah. Your infamous brothers. Ahsoka’s prankster friends. Why exactly are they named Fives and Echo?” Cody snorts. Almost everyone he has met has asked him that question.  
“Echo is called Echo because he mimicked everything Dad said. Including swear words. Mum really didn’t like that. Fives is named Fives because Mum used to joke that all good things come in Fives.”  
“Wow. That’s a cool story for them to tell. How many family members are in this University?” Obi looks happy, softly curling his fingers through Cody’s thick curls. Cody knows that if he doesn’t try something, he would never forgive himself.  
“A lot. I’d tell you over a lunch.” Obi blinks, looking confused. Shit. Is he straight? He was flirting, wasn’t he?   
“Are you asking me on a date?”  
“Yes. Is that a no?” Cody’s breaths begin to falter, as he wonders if he’s made a mistake.  
“Oh Cody. Of course, I’d go on a date with you. Just as long as you promise there will be no more glitter.” He shakes his head and glitter positively cascades down his face.  
Fives strolls past and throws Cody’s phone at his chest. Not even pausing, he kicks out Fives feet and pins him down, shaking as much glitter as possible onto his little brother.  
“You broke Fett Clan rule one you little shit. Its so on now.” Fives scrabbles at the floor and then his legs. But Cody is wise to his tricks and simply jumps off him. Fives bolts back to the stage as fast as humanly possible and Obi starts cackling again. Then he sees why his brother gave him back his phone. 26 messages from the Fett Clan Jnr group chat. Holy Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anakin still has his prosthetic in this AU! Hunt is an OC based off a friend. He makes and distributes anything on campus that has glitter and confetti. The campus is a chaotic hellhole


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody is kind of pissed off about how Fives and Echo got him with a glitter bomb. If they break the Fett code, why can't he

It takes about 3 showers to get most of the glitter out of his hair. By then his phone is still pinging. Cody really wants to throw it out the damn window. His patience is wearing really dang thin. All things considered, Obi Wan had given him his phone number and agreed to go on a date with him. That’s good. On the downside though, Fives and Echo had hit him with a glitter bomb and the group chat was blowing the hell up.  
Once he’s got about as much glitter as he can out of his hair, he dries off and grabs his phone. It’s no longer 26 messages. Its 68. The second it hits 69, someone is going to make a horrible joke. His bet would be on Fives or Sinker. If he had any money to bet. So, he unlocks his phone and enters the group chat.  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
High fives: attachment Cody-glitter-bomb.  
Jesse messy: Holy shit.   
Wooooolffe: That is absolute karma  
Waxering: Where are you guys?  
Echo echo echo: At the Games Club.  
Ponds: How did you manage to drag Cody along to that  
Echo echo echo: Well he broke his computer and I fixed it, so he owed me  
Boosted: Sucks for him  
Wooooolffe: That’s going to take ages to get out. Especially with Cody’s curls.  
Boba Tea: How did you get the glittery thing  
Blyndly in love: There is one guy on campus who makes weapons out of confetti and glitter and that shit. He’s called Hunt. I’ll get some next time you visit.  
Foxy Furry: Wait a minute. Who threw the glitter bomb? Cause if it was Fives or Echo then they’ve broken the Fett code  
High Fives: Relax. We got Hunt to throw it. Loophole bitches.  
Smexy Rexy: Why isn’t Cody responding to this dumpster fire?  
Echo echo echo: Fives confiscated his phone.  
Kixystix: Can all of you shut the fuck up. Helix and I are trying to study.   
Stinky Sinky: Ooh. Grumpy   
Heelix: Sinker. If you value your balls or your life, then you will shut the fuck up.  
Jesse messy: Why not just shut off your phones?  
Heelix: Because this is really hilarious.  
Ponds: Damn right   
Smexy Rexy: FIVES! Give Cody back his stupid phone. I want to bully him so much  
High Fives: No can do.  
Smexy Rexy: Why the fuck not?  
Echo echo echo: Because Cody is trying to flirt with this hot ass guy.  
Wooooolffe: Ha-ha. Cody wouldn’t have the balls.  
Comety: Bet? 20 bucks?  
Wooooolffe: Sure. You are going to lose  
High Fives: attachment png-Cody-with-hot-guy  
Stinky Sinky: Holy shit  
Comety: Give me my fucking money Wolffe.  
Wooooolffe: Bye  
Blyndly in love: I’m just asking. Can you all stop being dickheads? For one damn minute?   
Boosted: NO  
Foxy Furry: Why? Trying to impress someone (;  
Boiling with anger: What the actual hells is that thing  
Ponds: He broke his phone. Sifo made him use a really shitty old one as a punishment   
Foxy Furry: NO EMOJIS  
Kixystix: Boohoo. Now can you shut the fuck up.  
Stinky Sinky: Wolffe and Comet are wrestling, and Comet is trying to steal his money  
High Fives: I gave Cody his phone back. Happy?  
Smexy Rexy: Was he still trying to flirt?   
Blyndly in love: He can’t flirt for shit  
Boba Tea: You guys remember that time when he tried to ask out that guy and ended up asking him to go away?  
Smexy Rexy: You bullied him about that for ages!  
Boosted: Hey Helix or Kix?  
Kixystix: The fuck do you want now?  
Boosted: Well Comet won the wrestle and then Sinker teased Wolffe then they started wrestling   
Heelix: Still not our problem  
Boosted: Then Wolffe bit Sinker  
Ponds: Oh my god.  
Kixystix: How much blood?  
Boosted: Lots  
Heelix: Oh, For Fucks Sake  
Heelix: Can this family be fucking normal for one day?!?  
High Fives: Nope   
Echo echo echo: They were flirting then he put his number into Cody’s phone and then they left  
Blyndly in love: Actually?!?  
Jesse messy: Will he join the Fett Club of Dating?  
Smexy Rexy: What the actual hell Jesse. Who?  
Jesse messy: Well Bly obviously. His name on here is literally Blyndly in love  
Blyndly in love: Completely valid  
Jesse messy: And Ponds because he and Mace are totally together  
Ponds: I feel attacked. Fuck you  
Smexy Rexy: And you think our brother is going to join?  
High Fives: I’d put money on it! It’s that bad!  
Boosted: Kix is yelling. I’m scared  
Echo echo echo: Has anyone else noticed that Cody has been reading this chat? Cody? Answer you fucking coward! Tell us!

He sighs, pissed off that his little brother called him out. Well damn. No going back, no avoiding this bullying  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Codes: Any one of you want to explain why I have 69 new messages  
Jesse messy: Niiiiiiiiiice  
Foxy Furry: He’s avoiding the question by making a distracting statement

How the hell did Fox know that? Damn.  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Ponds: What the heck Fox   
Foxy Furry: I’m a fricking psychology student. I pay attention  
Echo echo echo: Thanks Fox. Do you want to share with the class Cody?  
Codes: Fuck off  
Smexy Rexy: THAT’S A YES  
Smexy Rexy: HE’S GOT A DATE  
Jesse messy: Answer you little coward  
Codes: I came out to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now  
Blyndly in love: Was that a came out pun? Was that seriously a gay joke?  
Kixystix: It probably was. Sinker is missing a chunk out of his arm. It might scar. And maybe that will teach you dipshits not to dumb things  
Wooooolffe: Nope  
Heelix: Don’t fucking get Kix started. You guys can interrogate Cody later. Listen to the damn medics  
Kixystix: DON’T FUCKING DO DUMB THINGS

Saved by the medic. Never thought that would happen. Cody whispers a silent thanks to his bitchy little brother and cousin. While they tear into those nut heads in the group chat, he can make his escape from there. Hell yeah. He mutes the group chat and goes to plunk it down on the nightstand when it buzzes. Cody checks. Kix. Shit. He decides to ignore it when it buzzes again.  
Kix  
Kixystix: I got them off your ass for a bit. You fucking owe me one now. Helix too.  
Kixystix: Don’t you dare ignore my text Cody. I know you will  
Codes: Yeah Kix. I owe you one then. Don’t bitch at me.  
Kixystix: Get some damn sleep. I swear that you idiots are going to die of too much coffee.  
Codes: Would that include you Kixystix? You drink enough coffee to kill a horse.  
Kixystix: Go the fuck to sleep

Yeah. His brother does that. Attempts to give them advice and then realises that the same advice applies to him. The whole family has a fricking coffee addiction. Its pretty funny actually. Jango tried to get them to give it up. Jango has pretty much given that up now. So, he just drinks tea, but everyone else has coffee. Probably why he’s the healthiest out of them. Rex is definitely the most addicted, having to actually brew his instant coffee with energy drinks instead of water in order to get the energy burst. Cody is so done with his family’s bullshit. Maybe sleep is a good idea  
When he wakes up, the first thing he realises is that he’s late. Then Cody remembers that class was cancelled. The second is that glitter absolutely coats his bed. It sparkles, lying on the sheets and on his hair. Fucks sake. Fives and Echo are so going to pay. It will be glittery and painful. He just needs to get around the Fett code. But, like they did, he doesn’t have to be the one doing the thing, he just needs someone or something to do it for him.  
Something lands on his abdomen, forcing all the air out of his lungs. Cody wheezes. Automatically, he turns to the side, bringing his knees up his attacker and bucking his hips. It could be anyone of his brothers. Only one of them knows how to avoid his knees. Rex. Of course his twin would jump on him.   
He swings legs from side to side and then flips up, shoving Rex off and pining him. He anticipates it. They’ve been fighting for 23 years. Cody almost knows that Rex will go for his ribs and dodges the punch. Rex is struggling under him, kicking and punching at his stomach and back. He lunges up, going for Cody’s neck. He dodges, going to the right and twirling around Rex before grabbing his arms, rolling them behind his back and pushing Rex’s face and short shorn blond hair into the glittery blankets.   
“What the actual hell Rex?” Cody says. In return he gets several grunts and rude gestures. Probably should’ve let Rex peel his face off the bed first. He leaps off and stands by the bed as Rex emerges from the rumpled sheets, looking sort of disgruntled, more inconvenienced than angry.   
“Who’s your boyfriend?” He snarks, a shit eating grin forming on his face. Cody sighs. Stupid family. Too damn early.  
“None of your fucking business.” Rex draws back, as if offended, before rolling off the bed and face planting into the floor.  
“Why the hell is your bed so glittery?” Rex asks. He runs his hand through his short blond hair and watches the glitter cascade down.  
“Fucking Terror Twins. I’m going to kill them.” Cody snarls, ignoring the raised eyebrow directed at him.  
“Ok then. I’m going to the gym. Do you want me to get Fives and Echo out of their room?” Sometimes he likes having a brother.  
“Yeah. Maybe for an hour at most.” Rex nods, turning to leave. “Thanks.”  
“Just get them back.” Rex snarks, heading toward the door into the hallway. Argh. Siblings. He really needs glitter if he wants to get them back. And there is only one good place in the school for that.  
He finds Hunt in the library, the usually mad scientist studying a book. It’s about Journalism. Didn’t know he was interested in that. Cody grabs a chair, turns it around and sits, leaning on the back. The book lowers and he meets the very unimpressed eyes of Hunt. Then the book whips back up.  
“If you don’t want to buy a glitter or confetti bomb then you better have a damn good reason for interrupting my reading.” He sounds like Kix, a mixture of fury and exasperation. Its slightly scarier on Kix. Maybe because Kix always has a scalpel.  
“I need to talk.” The book whips down again and his face is perfectly calm, one eyebrow raised neatly.  
“If it’s about glitter or confetti or journalism or just writing in general, I’ll talk. But if its anything else…” Cody takes the hint and decides to talk fast.   
“I need to get back at Echo and Fives. You owe me. For throwing that damn glitter bomb.”  
“Didn’t you like it? Just thank your lucky stars it wasn’t my glue glitter bomb.” He ignores the horrified expression and goes to grab his book. Cody moves and catches his wrist.   
“Come on Hunt. I just want glitter. Not a bomb or cannon.” Cody almost begs. Anyone who wants confetti or glitter has to go through this virtual blockade. He’s actually pretty fun to be around, an amazing gamer and a very smart guy. Its just that he’s all business until you get to know him.  
“If you want glitter Cody, check the maintenance cupboard on floor 2. I think I left a couple of bags there.” Hunt smiles softly as he speaks. Its an alarming change, though not unwelcome. Cody stands to leave and nods at Hunt, who has already gone back to his book.  
The glitter is exactly where he said it would be. The 2 whole massive bags of multicoloured plastic. Hunt even has some blueprints and a screwdriver in the cupboard. It was no secret that Hunt made all the glitter weapons, but the teachers were determined to confiscate all of the weapons. So, they had to adapt and hide everything  
Cody pockets the screwdriver, grabs the glitter bags and walks up the stairs to Floor 4. Somehow after 2 months, no one has fixed the damn lifts. It’s a pain in the ass. Cody and Rex’s dorm is on Floor 5, the highest floor. One for those who will graduate within 2 years. The floors are arranged by age. Floor 3 is from 19 to 20-year-old, Floor 4 from 21-22 and Floor 5 being 23 and 24-year-old students.   
Coruscant Dorms aren’t the only ones on campus. There is a few more dorms scattered around, including Naboo and Tatooine. Naboo was for the cliques and the kids whose parents bribe the school. Tatooine was for the stoners and students who couldn’t afford the lodging fee for Coruscant. Coruscant has the best nightlife and randomness out of the three, being a place where there is a gym for the students, but no one can fix a damn lift. To be fair, they all have killer calf muscles from the stairs.  
The Twins are close to the middle of the dorms on their floor. A good place. Unfortunately, their door is locked. Great. The one time they shut their room is the one time he needs to get in for some other reason that annoying them. Shit. Cody leans against the door and slides down to the floor. His T-shirt catches on something and tears, capturing his full attention. A screw. Holding an air vent in place. Holy shit. This would get around the locked door and the fact that he can’t break the code.   
Hunt’s screwdriver does its job remarkably well, undoing the screws and letting him pull the vent off of the wall. It’s pretty big, a gap in the insulation that interconnects all the dorm rooms. Cody leans forward, attempting to fit in. Ouch. His shoulders wrench in pain. Damn that stupid Fett gene that gave him broad shoulders. A tap on his back causes him to jump out of his skin, cracking his head on the vent roof.  
“What exactly are you doing.” A voice inquires, sounding pretty judgemental. To be fair, if he were walking through the corridors and found someone trying to get in the vents, he’d be curious and pretty judgy. Cody wriggles backwards, pushing himself out of the vents and sneezing when the cloud of accumulated dust becomes too much. There’s a small girl standing in front of him. He knows her from last night. Obi Wan’s friend.  
“Ahsoka right?” Cody says, seeing if she is who he thinks. She rolls her eyes in exasperation.  
“Yeah. That’s me. Now, do you want to explain why you are attempting to crawl through the ceiling vents into Fives and Echo’s room? Or do I have to ask them myself?” Her tone is playful at the same time as deadly serious. Ahsoka crosses her arms and raises her eyebrow neatly.  
“You saw what they pulled with the glitter bomb?” She nods sharply. “Yeah. I want revenge but I can’t be the person to put glitter everywhere or I’ve broken the Fett code.” He talks fast, gesturing to drive his point home.  
“Fett code? I thought Fives was joking. So, you’re trying to put glitter in the vents to get them back? You do realise doing that will coat every damn dorm on this corridor with glitter?” She doesn’t sound angry, more amused. Ahsoka has a point. He hadn’t thought of the other dorms, merely getting back at his brothers.  
“Didn’t think of that.” He states. If Ahsoka’s eyes were rolling earlier, they were a whirlpool of exasperation now.  
“Obviously. You need to get right above the room and dump it onto their fans.” Ahsoka explains.  
“Well I can’t fit.” Cody points out, the bags of glitter on the floor next to him seem to be mocking him.  
“I can.” His head whips up. “I can fit, and it’d be funny. I need revenge on them anyway. They dumped dye in my washing, and I think that they feel I’ve forgotten about it.” Ahsoka smirks, drops to her knees and grabs the glitter bags before pulling a swiss army knife from her pocket.  
“OK.” Cody says nodding. He’s surprised. She’s known him for like 14 hours and is going to help him prank his brothers. Totally normal. She sheds her jacket and adjusts her overalls, before crouching down and slipping into the vents.   
“On the fans?” She asks, pulling herself forward. The glitter catches the light of her small torch she had in her overalls and tosses patterns all over the vent.   
“Yep.” He affirms, placing the vent cover back and standing casually. Then Cody remembers that he needs to do something dramatic. He grabs a notepad and a pen and jots down a note to pin to the door. This is going to be amazing

Fives has had a good couple of hours. Rex had invited him and Echo down to the Gym to train. They ran laps and sparred and even wrestled. His brother, wiry and fast, had outpaced him in running, but Fives knows his strengths. He’s good at physical things, wrestling and fighting. Rex still beat them both with one hand behind his back. It is a pretty warm day, and despite trying to cool down, he’s feeling bit hot. But on the other side, he doesn't have soccer training till night.   
He and Echo make their way back to their room loudly. It’s a tradition to see how many shoes get tossed at their heads by formerly sleeping students. The main tosser being Helix, the medical student usually being quiet and calm, has a ferocious temper when disturbed.   
Their door looms ahead and a small note is pinned to it. In neat, tidy writing it proclaims, “The skies shall erupt in light and the sparkle of cheap plastic and ye shall know only glitter.” Huh. He wonders who the heck put that there, the most likely suspect being Jesse, with Cody not far behind. Echo unlocks the door and they enter.   
The room is unchanged, everything in its place. But it’s stifling and boiling hot. So, Fives crosses to the controls and turns on the fans. The effect is instantaneous. Glitter flies everywhere and he stands in the middle of it, watching as the skies quite literally erupt in light. How the hell. Echo yells something from behind him and he manages to decipher it as turn off the fricking fan.   
The cyclone of glitter dies down and leaves two very confused people in its wake  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
High Fives: Who in the actual fuck put glitter on our ceiling fan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy this weird chapter


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting revenge, Cody thinks about University and Obi Wan

Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Echo echo echo: Cody. Was this you?  
Smexy Rexy: Oh Cody. You wouldn’t  
Codes: I was with Ahsoka. She was telling me about all the pranks you’ve pulled. KIX! JESSE! Remember the Orbeez` in the bathtub?  
Jesse messy: You damn idiot. Our taps leaked those demon things for weeks!  
Boosted: That’s rough buddy  
High Fives: I need proof

Cody turns to Ahsoka, pulling up the selfie camera. She rolls her eyes, smiling slightly. He snaps the photo and sends it to the group chat, ignoring the way her head immediately flops back onto her textbook.  
Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Codes: attachment png-Ahsoka-Cody-selfie  
Boba Tea: He has an alibi  
High Fives: KEEP YOUR FUCKING POLICE NOSE OUT OF THIS  
Boba Tea: Go to hell Fives  
High Fives: Go eat a donut you cop  
Boba Tea: I feel attacked. I’m leaving  
Blyndly in love: I leave for one minute  
Ponds: WHO BROKE THE FETT CODE?  
Foxy Furry: Dang Ponds. I thought you were in class  
Ponds: It’s a weekend class. Mace is distracting the teacher  
Sinker: Do not want to hear about your sex life  
Foxy Furry: You don’t have to share a dorm with him  
Wooooolffe: Is that why you camp out in Bly and my dorm all the time?  
Foxy Furry: No.   
Blyndly in love: Explain now  
Foxy Furry: Fine. He’s always up late and texting Mace. The sappy aww sounds just ruins my night.  
Ponds: Just because you don’t have a boyfriend  
Foxy Furry: Uncalled for you asshole   
Boiling with Anger: I feel like Cody probably did the thing  
Waxering: ??????????  
Comety: Please explain. He has an alibi. No proof  
Boiling with Anger: Maybe he wanted to get them back?  
Foxy Furry: For them setting him up with a guy so hot that his brain melted?  
Codes: Huh. Bye

He closes the phone and turns to Ahsoka. Her mechanics textbook is tossed on the lunch table, lunch ignored. Her head is down on the book. She’s really nice. Bit crazy, but hey, to be around the Fetts, you have to be slightly insane.  
“Hey Ahsoka, I need to go to the library and study. Got an assignment coming up. Thanks for helping me.” She sighs softly, waving at him. Cody stands, grabbing his bag and walks out of the Lunchroom.   
The campus is busy, students enjoying the rare sunshine. There’s a little soccer game going on in one corner, ball ricocheting of the walls and heads. He never got that game. Cody understands the rules, just doesn’t like the game. Fives had dragged him along to one of his games, for the men’s soccer team, The Council, and the entire match was really fast and confusing.   
A small group of students, probably druggies, are chilling on a bench, smoke staining the air around them. The campus druggies were the worst. Constantly smoking, regardless of the rules about no smoking in dorms or classes. It’s annoying. They even tried to smoke in the library. That was before Head Librarian Jocasta Nu kicked them all out.  
The library is the one peaceful spot on campus, Librarian Nu guarding over both the books and her quiet atmosphere with a dragon like ferociousness. She doesn’t really like the Fetts. Most of his family has a bad habit of misusing library books. She likes a few though. Echo helped her update her entire catalogue on to the internet, Kix and Helix camping out until extremely late at night trying to study. Fox, Ponds and Comet are all ok by her standards. All the others are watched from behind her scary glasses from the second they enter. She’s fine with Cody. He returns his books on time and doesn’t bring food or glitter in.  
Librarian Nu redecorated when she took control, turning the metal and wood library into a comfortable area with fluffy armchairs that you can practically sink in to. All the spinning desk chairs are stored far far away from the fire extinguishers. Sinker and Boost watched Brooklyn 99 and got very inspired. The bookshelves are overcrowded, books just lying around on any spare space. Cody is sure that they’re organised even when almost tossed around. Librarian Nu is just that sort of person.   
He scans his pass and the sleek doors slide open noiselessly. Librarian Nu is at her desk, sitting upright, book in her lap and her glasses discarded on a chain swinging from her desk. She nods as he passes her, almost immediately returning to the book. There is his usual desk, the comfiest chair and next to a window. Cody shucks off his shoes and practically leaps into the chair, curling into a ball, grasping his irritating history textbook. The introduction to the paragraph is insanely boring, discussing how the countries of the world got interested in capitalism. Great. As if life wasn’t annoying enough  
Eventually, after hours of reading through the bullshit that apparently counts as “Education”, Cody is just done with life. At this point, the textbook is beginning to look like a bunch of future paper planes. Librarian Nu can obviously sense his lack of focus, stopping her calm pacing around her shelves.  
“Cody Fett. I suggest you find something to do to help you regain your focus. May I suggest the free forensics course on tonight in Lab 3?” She says serenely, placing a small flyer on the table before swanning away. It does look interesting. Learn forensics from an expert. Huh. Not really his field. He thinks it sounds cool, better than doing any more looking at a history textbook. Especially with the fact that if he goes back to his rooms, he has to deal with Rex being an asshole about Obi Wan and the date. The date he still hasn’t organised. Its Saturday. He still has time.  
The forensics course has an almost full class attending. The lab is crowded, people sitting on chairs everywhere. The benches to the side are empty, and Cody veers towards them, figuring that if he can’t sit on a chair, he should sit high and be able to just see the presenter. The presenter is a short, very self-assured looking man in a police uniform.  
“Greetings. I am Tanivos Exantor Divo. I am a detective in the police force and a forensics expert.” His voice is reedy, pompous. Very annoying. The door swings open and one of the campus druggies races through, skidding across the slippery floor and almost tossing himself into one of the few remaining seats.   
“If everyone is settled, I’d like to start. “He almost yells, peering at the assembled students. “Very well. Wherever a body is dumped, there will be a branch of science that can help catch the criminal. This is one of the most famous forensics quotes. I am a detective; I help find the evidence. But I am also one of the foremost forensics experts in this city.” He drones on, voice settling into a monotone. What he is saying is interesting. Unfortunately, Cody is very distracted by the fact that the druggie appears to be rifling through the drawers. He flips out his foot and slams the drawer shut, nearly on their fingers. The druggie finally notices him then, blinking guiltily. He switches through several expressions, eventually settling on a confident smile.   
“Hello my friend! I am Hondo Ohnaka. I am going to assume that you didn’t know that you are blocking my drawer. Can you move your foot?” He says in a singsong tone, almost laughing. There’s a slight tone of annoyance underneath, sharp enough to cut.   
“Only if you stop making noise.”  
“My friend, we have a deal!” His tone is triumphant. Cody just wants to listen to the damn presentation. He pushes his foot off the drawer and returns it to the bench, arranging his legs in a criss cross. From the notes sprawling across the board, it appears that they’re on DNA. The familiar double helix and little rungs twirl across the centre, definitions covering the other parts. Mr. Divo is sketching something that looks an awful lot like a dead body. Great. Honestly, he didn’t know what to expect at a forensics course.   
“Can anyone tell me why the crime scene needs to be sealed off?” A hand shoots up near the middle of the seats. “Yes miss?”  
“Bant. It is so that the crime scene doesn’t get destroyed or cross contaminated. That could ruin all the evidence!” She blurts out, half rising to her feet. Someone laughs in the back of the room.  
“Very good miss Bant. To those in the back who laughed, she is completely correct. That is the reason. Who laughed?” Divo says in his insanely high tone. A blond guy stands in the back of the room, blue clothes contrasting with his blond hair.  
“Faro Argyus. Its just funny that the class girly nerd managed to get the answer faster than anyone. Especially when she has absolutely no friends and no boyfriend. How lame can a girl get?” His friends laugh next to him, high fiving him as he sits back down on his chair. Bant sinks down in her chair, pulling her water coloured hoodie around her. Her long orange braids tuck into her jumper. Someone leaps to their feet next to her.  
“Can you shut up Faro? No one cares about your stupid patriarchal values anymore.” The girl that stands has dark hair, pulled into intricate shapes. Her hoodie is dark maroon with gold stripes across the shoulders and sleeves. He remembers her. She’s the Captain of the Senate debate team. A person who is in a few of his classes. Someone who actually cares about the state of affairs on campus.   
“What Amidala? You going to make me shut up? I’d shut up if you went on a date with me. Let’s say Friday night. Just us baby. Say yes.” He looks her up and down and wolf whistles. She rolls her eyes and smirks back.  
“A. I have a boyfriend, and B. I would rather die. I really would rather die than date someone who doesn’t take no for an answer. When will the boys around here realise that no means no, and being an asshole to girls doesn’t mean that they’re attracted to you in any way, shape or form? So, take your patriarchal values and shove it up your ass!” She twirls around and points the rude finger at him. “Sorry Mr. Divo, please continue.” Amidala sits back neatly, flipping her hair back into its intricate curled buns. Mr. Divo blinks a few times, seemingly taken aback by the sudden change in his lecture.   
“Are we done people? Can I keep going?” He demands, gesturing around the room, looking pissed off. Amidala smiles at him sweetly, looking disarmingly polite.  
“Sorry sir. Just giving Faro a little information to make him less of an asshole to girls, and to understand that when a girl says no, it means no. Instead of asking a girl out 3 times when they have made their feelings clear, he could just stop being an ass and take no for an answer.” She sings the last bit, high fiving the girls next to her. The girl next to her has long brown hair, blue at the tips, that’s arranged into a pairs of sports braids. Cody has seen her around a bit. Hunt’s friend. Another absolute maniac. Plays with Ahsoka for the Defenders. Friends with Aayla Secura.   
“Well then. Argyus, do you think you can both keep it in your pants and keep your mouth shut for long enough for me to finish my lecture.?” Mr. Divo snaps, grabbing another marker and sketching a pool of blood around the corpse. Fun. Faro Argyus leans forward and slides a slip of paper to Hunt’s friend, who promptly tears it up and tosses it back at him. Wow. He sees why she’s one of the only female students in the male dominated chemistry program. Perfect chaos there. A chem student and a mech student making weapons. What could possibly go wrong?  
Something brushes his leg, and he looks down to see Hondo, attempting to shove some suspicious looking powder back into a small bag. Cody leans forward, tapping his arm.  
“What exactly are you doing?” He says. Hondo’s face is the picture of innocence, smiling. Unfortunately, he has been around his brothers long enough to realise exactly what that smile means. It means “Oh fuck, someone caught me doing something illegal/stupid/dumb/for a prank, and I must now make them think that I’m not doing anything wrong, and that I’m innocent.” Rex uses it on him. Especially when Cody busts him eating the leftovers specifically labelled as Cody’s.   
“Well my friend, I think you should no. I haven’t come to this class to listen to this pompous ass, no. I am here to retrieve something. Something of vital importance to me.”   
“Drugs?” Cody says coolly. Hondo looks shocked for exactly two seconds, before smiling again.  
“Well yes, but no. I am merely here to retrieve what I left in here. And it is to celebrate! My friend finally got asked on a date!” Huh. Maybe Hondo isn’t so bad. Especially is he’s celebrating.  
“Why exactly are you celebrating?” Hondo takes Cody’s words as a prompt, tucking the rest of his probably illegal substance into his jacket.   
“Well my friend, he hasn’t been on a date in ages. He broke up with his old girlfriend ages ago, and he’s finally moved on and now he has a date! He’s just waiting for his date to text him, then Kenobi will be back in the game!” Hondo crows triumphantly, ignoring the glares he’s getting. Kenobi. That sounds familiar. Oh. Kenobi. Obi Wan Kenobi. His date. That’s Hondo’s friend? Hondo swings off the chair and mock salutes Cody, strolling out the door. His phone suddenly seems very light. He pulls it out and begins a text to Obi Wan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to publish this yesterday, but my city got hit by a storm and I was without power for two days. So here it is :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and the Council soccer team do some training. Ahsoka, Anakin and Obi have a family night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I play soccer, so this has been my favorite chapter to write because I love the team dynamics.

Anakin is pissed. Its raining and he’s sopping wet with water pooling in his soccer boots and his uniform is sticking to his body. The scratch match with the Defenders is not going well. Ahsoka has obviously been paying attention to his half-asleep lectures on the Council and their shit tactics. So far, she alone has scored 2 goals, outwitting Cin Drallig. And Bultar Swan just tackled him, and his legs got tangled and he hit the ground. Hard. Had winded him. And then he’d gotten mud into his prosthetic. That was going to be a pain in the ass to clean.   
“Ahsoka!” Bultar, still standing, shouts. She passes to Ahsoka, her black bob swinging in wet clumps. Ahsoka’s white and blue Dutch braids swing as she twirls around Ki-Adi and does a neat pass to her wing.  
“Go for it Katooni!” Her wing woman, long brown box braids done into a neat ponytail, almost dances with Ima Gun Di, ignoring him as he attempts to snatch the ball away from her. Her legs are basically a blur, the little girl moving a lot faster than Ima, who appears to be getting slightly confused. Katooni banks on that, passing to Stass Allie, who has so far avoided getting called for offside. Stass bolts past Coleman Kcaj, who nearly trips. And she turns, booting the ball perfectly into the corner of the net. Cin doesn’t stand a chance. He dives, attempting to get the ball, but it flies straight past him. His ponytail flips into his face and he hits the mud. Yoda, standing on a bench, blows a whistle to signal the end.   
The forlorn Council stumble off the field, most ignoring the cartwheeling celebrating Defenders. Fives is definitely not doing the ignoring part. He’s talking, probably flirting with one of the Defenders, a defence player, who tackled Fives earlier in the game and got the ball away from him any time he tried to run through. She looks unsurprisingly smug, arms crossed, blue tipped braids swinging over her shoulders. Ahsoka sprints up behind the girl, leaping onto her shoulders. She doesn’t even seem surprised, catching Ahsoka, mock saluting Fives, and running over to their team. Fives smiles after her, turning and walking across to Anakin.  
“Who’s that Fives?” He teases automatically, ignoring the way a blush starts spreading across Fives’s face.  
“Ahsoka and Hunt and my friend. Her names Melia.” He mutters, toeing at the turf.  
“Ooh.” Anakin elbows Fives, shit eating grin transforming his face into an absolutely evil one. Fives elbows him back.  
“It’s not like that Anakin. I just wanted to ask her about how she got the ball off of me so easily.” He says. Then Anakin’s hair flops into his face, prompting him to push it all to the side. Fives laughs quietly.  
“What’d she say?” He says expectantly.  
“She said, and I quote “What? Do you want lessons? You were looking at my face and ignoring the ball. Should probably work on that.”” Anakin howls with laughter, pushing at Fives’s shoulder. They finish the walk to the team, everyone standing awkwardly.

“Gather round everyone. Train more we must, yes? Show greater focus. Get ready for a game we must. Win we are not going to, if practise we don’t.” Yoda says, standing next to the bench. His usual bright green game plan clipboard sits on the ground. Mace stands next to him, the team captain listening intently. The Defenders stand nearby, the girls in their neat uniforms scattered across the grass, leaning on each other. Their coach, Shaak Ti, is demonstrating a drag pass with the girl who managed to get Fives all worked up. Melia. Ahsoka goes on an attack and Melia drags back the ball and kicks it up and over Ahsoka’s head. The assembled Defenders cheer, all going for high fives.   
“Everyone listen!” Mace snaps, looking directly at Anakin. “Some of our performances were sloppy today, showing that we need more practise. We play the Sith in a week. Come on guys.” Honestly, most of Anakin’s train of thought in that second, was about how this absolute ass managed to get a boyfriend. Fives leans behind him, guessing his thought.  
“Yeah. I wonder that as well. Have no idea what my cousin sees in him.” His little snort at the end of the sentence, attracts the high and mighty attention of Coach Yoda.  
“Boys. To Mace you must listen. Captain of this team, he is. Behave.” Yoda says, jumping off the bench and grabbing a towel. “For now, grab a towel everyone should. No colds, before a game. Get that glitter out of your hair, you should Fives.” Fives ducks his head in shame, sending flecks of glitter cascading onto his boots. His forlorn expression, seeing the glitter scattered across the precious boots, hand painted with Rishi Eels, nearly makes Anakin choke trying to hold back the laughter bubbling in his throat. Kit, standing on the other side of Fives, is less than successful. He lets out a snort of laughter, his long-wet hair flopping in his face. Mace gently elbows him and Kit snaps to attention, waiting for Yoda to leave. Once Yoda is gone, Kit dissolves into very high-pitched giggles. Mace looks at him, a ‘I’m so done with this bullshit’ look on his face. It is one perfected on the team.  
“Alright everyone. Good practise.” Mace nods, watching as Kit dissolves into giggles every time Fives moves, watching the glitter fall out onto the grass. Anakin frankly doesn’t know how they remained friends after they were dumped in a room together in first year. The uptight gay rule follower and the campus sporty kid, who parties hard, and is still somehow on the swim squad, the soccer team and, unknown to most, has the best abs in their year.  
“Anakin!” Ahsoka yells from behind him, prompting him to turn and face her. Both the girls walking towards him have their game bags and towels tossed over their arms. Ahsoka’s face has flecks of mud on it, her hair has full on patches of mud through it and her uniform looks as if she just rolled in a mud puddle. Melia doesn’t look much better, mud across her uniform and through her Dutch braids. Her electric green boots have little skulls hand painted on the side. Fives takes the bait.  
“What’re the skulls on your boots for?” He asks. She grins widely, Ahsoka looking as if Christmas had just been delayed for a year.  
“Oh those? Those are for every time someone asks me what they’re for. Pay up.” She holds her hand out and Ahsoka pulls a 10 dollar note out of her bag, passing it over. Melia rolls it up and sticks it down her pockets.  
“Going to go have a shower. Have fun at the movie night.” She mock salutes and twirls on her heel, almost racing for the hot showers. The hot water on campus is notorious for going cold halfway through showering.  
“Movie night? Meli? Did you seriously remind me about that? How the fuck do you know? Are you a fucking stalker?” Ahsoka yells at her retreating form. Melia turns around and flips Ahsoka off with both hands, dropping her bag and her clean dry towel on the muddy ground in the process. They can hear her swearing from 200 metres away. Damn.   
“Movie night?” Anakin’s brain is a little bit fuzzy, probably from Bultar’s tackle.   
“Yeah…. Movie night. The one we do every few weeks.” Ahsoka says, talking slowly, trying to make it clear. Anakin’s brain finally catches up and he nods, immediately causing another spike of pain to shoot through. Why didn’t the ref call that tackle? Too late now.  
“Ah right. That movie night. Ok.” He says. “But we should probably get a shower first. Obi will murder us if we come into the dorm absolutely covered in mud again. And please, for my sake, dry your hair at least partially before leaping onto the couch.” Ahsoka flips said hair, the blue and white stripes nearly striking her across the face, leaving little muddy patches.   
“No promises. But, if you don’t want Obi to kill us for being late, then you should probably hit the showers before all the warm water is gone.” She points out, promptly taking her own advice and fleeing to the showers. Anakin and Fives are just left there, looking at the mud between them and the gym.   
“Well Anakin, don’t suppose you’d be willing to toss me over that mud pool with that mechanical hand? I have a hole in my old boots.” Fives leans on him, smiling innocently. He could. Fives would make it about 5m. Then he’d be in the mud. So, Anakin grabs the back of Fives’s uniform with his mechanic hand and begins to walk around the edges of the mud, pushing Fives in front of him.  
“You really don’t like mud, do you?” Fives nearly slips, accidently kicking some mud back at Anakin.  
“No. I don’t like mud. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.” Anakin says back, avoiding another puddle. Fives on the other hand, shrugs, gives Anakin his soccer bag and runs across the mud, sliding for metres and landing on his ass, completely covered in mud. He shakes his short-cropped hair and laughs, a sound that could be heard from across the pitch. 

The showers are still lukewarm, Anakin recognising the sound of cold water and tossing himself out of the shower mere seconds before it hits him. The little plastic bag tied around his detached prosthetic gets a few drips of water on it, not enough to cause panic. Fives, however, is unfortunate enough to have ignored the sound, and is shocked by the water suddenly turning freezing. He lets out little squeaking curses before grabbing a towel and turning the shower off. There’s a genuine scream, then laughter from the other side of the building, girls as surprised as Fives with the water change. Ahsoka’s laughing can be heard above every other sound, loud and carefree. Anakin detaches his prosthetic and places it in a bag to clean later.  
“Get a little cold there Fives?” Anakin jibes, leaping out of the way of the cracking towel seconds later. Almost all the other boys, getting changed, cover their sensitive areas, looking around warily.   
“Shut it Anakin.” The bite of Five’s words are diminished by the way he begins shivering softly. Kit, in trackpants and no shirt, laughs at the shivering boy.  
“Clearly Fives, you have never had to get up at four am, when it is literally freezing cold and toss yourself into an unheated pool.” The swimmer smiles broadly, muscles flexing as he goes to pull on a shirt. He is the absolute best swimmer on campus, one of the only participants on the Nautolan boys swim team. Padme’s friend, Bant, is on the Mon Cala, the girl’s team. They both dominate at their categories, some even saying that they are basically fish.   
“Yeah Kit, I haven’t. And I don’t want to get out of bed that early. Even if you payed me.” Fives says, yanking on his own jumper and running his fingers through his short-cropped hair. Anakin has to stifle a laugh, Fives being a notoriously heavy sleeper. Echo had, at one point or another, rigged Fives’s bed to shake him, play his least favourite songs and lightly electric zap him. But the undisputed way to get any Fett out of bed is to grab a cup of fresh coffee and wave it in front of them. Anakin checks the time.  
“Right. Got to go if I want to help Obi prep our room.” He says, snapping his bag over his shoulder.  
“Hey Anakin! Do you want a hand?” The laughing tone in Fives’s voice is almost tangible. He turns to see Fives waving his prosthetic, still in a bag. He catches it out of the air, nearly dropping it, and rearranges it to flip him off. The raucous laughter from the assembled team cuts off when he slams the door on them.  
Ahsoka is waiting for him outside the changerooms. She stands with Melia, who somehow changed, and is wearing a cropped hoodie and short shorts. She has a raincoat tossed over the top and her sopping wet hair is redone into the intricate braids. Fives’s jaw would hit through the centre of the planet if he were here. Ahsoka is wearing more clothes than Melia, a jumper and jeans with the Fulcrum symbol painted all over them. She adopted his callsign, Fulcrum, and gave it a badass symbol to match.  
“See ya tomorrow. I’ll text you photos of Hunt covered in glitter once I’ve got all the mud out of the places it definitely shouldn’t be. Have fun Soka.” The girl smirks, strolling away from them.   
“Meet at my room in fifteen minutes?” Anakin says, pushing his hair out of his eyes.   
“Sure. Let me have a long shower to regain feeling in my limbs, and I’ll be right along. Want me to bring popcorn?” She responds, pulling her phone out of the bottom of the bag, probably Snapchatting Lux. Anakin doesn’t know what she sees in that Bonteri kid. He’s just a troublemaker, having been kicked out of Separatist University and Independent.   
“Yeah. I’ll tell Obi.” He pulls up the number on his phone and calls Obi. Unsurprisingly, he takes a while to pick up.  
“Hi Anakin. Everything OK?” His roomie sounds sleepy.  
“Yeah Obi. Hey, Ahsoka’s bringing over popcorn. Who’s turn is it to pick the movie?” There’s sounds of footsteps and Obi frantically responds.  
“Wait. Shit. That’s tonight? It’s my turn, but what do we do for food?”   
“Just get takeaway.” He hangs up, flipping the phone and shoving it back into his pocket. Then he bolts, attempting to get to the dorms.

When he gets there, Obi Wan has hung fairy lights and scattered pillows and blankets across the couch. The movie selection is up on the TV, booklets for almost every takeaway in a 4-block radius lying across the table. The man himself, is sorting through the cupboards, looking for something that Anakin or Ahsoka probably used in one of their disaster cooking trials. He doesn’t even look up when Anakin bolts past, skidding across the floor in his muddy boots. The shower is open, causing him to practically leap in.   
After basically scalding his skin, Anakin dries off, punting his wet uniform into the washing machine. He crosses into the kitchen and doesn’t duck fast enough to dodge the towel that is tossed at him  
“Dang it Anakin. How many times have I warned you and Ahsoka to take of your damn soccer boots? And yet you still run across my clean floor in them. Tracking mud everywhere.” His friend sounds exasperated, having just wiped the last remains of mud off of the floor. The door beeps, signalling that Ahsoka has arrived. He ducks the brush half heartedly tossed at him and unlocks the door.  
“Hi Soka. The couch is clean, and there’s a pile of menus on the table.” He says, taking the massive bag of popcorn she holds out. She leaps onto the couch, immediately snatching her favourite blanket and landing next to Obi Wan. Obi chucks a menu to her. She rolls off the edge of the couch and flops facedown into the plush carpet that Obi had insisted they got. The menu floats through the air, landing on her back, causing her to roll in order to grab it.  
“Ooh. Pizza!” She crows, kicking her feet. “What’re we watching Obi?” Its no secret that Ahsoka’s favourite movie is Lilo and Stitch. The whole thing about found family resonates to her, having been kicked out by her homophobic parents when she had let it slip that she was Pansexual. At least with Obi and Anakin, she was accepted.  
“Princess and the Frog. It’s a classic.” Ahsoka nods once, considering Obi’s response. Anakin flops on the couch next to him, reading the Vietnamese menu.  
“Feeling like Spring Rolls?” He asks. Everyone nods. “Cool. Obi, would you like to do the honours?” His phone is lying on the bench, face down. Obi picks it up, squealing like a little kid. Ahsoka startles, snapping onto her knees.  
“What’s going on?” She says, ignoring Anakin’s shrug.  
“I’m going on a date! Cody just asked if I’d like to go out tomorrow!” He jumps back onto the couch, all attention on his phone.  
“Why is everyone getting relationships? I get Padme and Anakin. I guess you and Cody work. And from the looks of it, Fives likes Melia as a little bit more than friends. Why can’t I get a relationship?” She groans, mock screaming into her pillow. Obi places his phone to the side, fake tackling her. They roll across the floor, Anakin leaping on top of them as they wrestle. They end up in a pile on the floor, Ahsoka near the top, Obi being crushed by Anakin’s thighs. Ahsoka coughs awkwardly.  
“So…. Who’s ordering the food?” She asks, squealing as Obi and Anakin drag her into a massive hugging pile on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure that everyone knows the situation unfolding in America, but please stay safe.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody has to put up with his family during a pizza and movie night. All he wants to do is get a text about the date from Obi Wan.

Cody waits for the text back, leaning against the smooth brick wall of the Science Building, earphones in, almost full volume. The lecture finished minutes ago, had reduced to around 15 people by the end, the others rushing back to their dorms, family, or various off campus activities. Padme’s friend, the one with blue tipped hair, had left not long after Hondo, checking her phone and bolting out of there. Divo had almost demanded where she was going and she had smiled, saying that the Council wouldn’t beat themselves. A boy up the front, Rahm Kota, had shot to his feet at that comment, following her out of there, knowing that Mace, the team captain, would make any late comers run laps. It’d happened to Fives enough; his younger sibling having always forgetting a boot or his bright blue Council jersey almost every time he had practise. One time he got Echo to drive back to Republic University twenty minutes before a game on the other side of the city. After they had left, Divo hadn’t bothered to ask where people were leaving to.  
His phone chimes, causing him to nearly drop it. His heart pounds, drowning out “Wake me up before you go-go” by Wham playing through his bad quality earphones. Cody flips through the apps and finds the message. It’s not from Obi. It’s from Rex, his brother asking him about food. Usual.

Rexter  
Rexy: It’s your turn to make dinner, what are you going to cook?  
Codes: I think I still had some pizza dough in the fridge from a couple of days ago. You went shopping right?  
Rexy: Pizza?  
Codes: No. We’re doing a five-course meal. Of course, it’s pizza you idiot.  
Rexy: No need to be an ass. Yeah, I went shopping. Bought ham and cheese. And pepperoni and pineapple. For that disgusting little brother.  
Rexy: By the way, Fives and Echo are coming over for pizza  
Codes: Why?  
Rexy: Because you’re the only Fett that can cook and your pizzas are legendary in the Fett clan.   
Codes: Ponds can cook. So can Bly and Fox.   
Rexy: Valid point. Maybe it’s just because they’re lazy. Or because Sifo didn’t go full drill Sergeant on them when they left a mess.  
Codes: Tup can bake absolutely anything   
Rexy: Yeah. Because it helps with anxiety and Jango doesn’t yell at him

Yeah. That’s definitely the reason. Jango tended to despise it when they would leave a mess in the kitchen. Cody had at least learnt how to clean up after himself. Fives, always leaving a mess, and Echo don’t cook much, basically living of instant noodles and frozen food. Also, fast food and takeaway. It’s a miracle that they were somehow both still both in good shape. It’s also a miracle that they haven’t collapsed yet. To be fair, Fives plays soccer and Echo does exercise a lot. Rex makes sure they do, literally hauling them away from their devices or whatever mechanical thing Echo is up to his elbows in.  
Cody kicks off of the wall, walking towards the Dorms, towards his hungry brother. Halfway there, Fives walks out of the direction of the soccer pitch. Under the stadium style lights, his dark wet hair gleams with little pinpricks of glittery light. Cody smiles, revenge well done.  
“What are you grinning at Cody?” Fives says, shaking out his soaking wet glittery locks. Glitter flies free, little sparkling specks dancing through the air.  
“I take it that training went well?” Cody asks. He catches the soccer bag, sopping wet, that Fives tosses at him. Fives growls, adjusting his dry T-Shirt and rubbing his phone against it frantically, checking for messages. Something catches his eye, causing Fives to grin madly.  
“Yeah We lost and got soaked. The girls kicked our ass and I fell into a puddle. And I’m coated in glitter. Hear you’re doing pizza. If you let me have some, I might forgive you.” His brother grins wickedly, knowing that if he tells Jango, Cody will get his patented disappointed parent speech.   
“Rex already invited you and Echo over.” He sighs, smiling softly at the way his brother grins, watching the happiness on his face.

Coruscant looms ahead, the formerly white brick having years worth of graffiti and drawings scrawled across it. Almost every year, the art students paint the wall with murals. Within months, it’s back to being coated in graffiti. Last year’s mural theme was fairy tales, castles and dream locations soaring into the sky. He can pinpoint his dorm, next to a sketch of Belle and the Beast dancing, the light shining in a window. A window a few rooms over is open, loud music and flashes of light escaping. Fives looks up at the dorm, turning to face the doors. The stairs are dimly lit, passing the entrances to the gym and mini library. They make their way to Cody’s floor, ignoring the hell hole that is Fives’s floor.

The common rooms are filled with students from all years using the shared TV and consoles and lying across the couches and beanbags that litter the floor. Currently, the game on the TV is multiplayer Minecraft. Cheers sound as someone shoots another with an arrow from an outpost. The girl who has the bow spins around, swinging her blonde braid over her shoulder, holding out her hands and receiving high fives from the spectators. The one who got shot looks at her, placing down his console and turning to the girl, who smiles at him, scrunching up her nose. He leans over and kisses her softly, prompting whistles and laughs. She leans to the side, swiping his grey cap off his curly brown hair and placing it backwards on her head. They’re cute, smiling at each other like they’re the centre of each other’s universe. Cody wishes he had someone like that. But he can’t restrain his urge to check his phone. Obi hasn’t seen the message yet. He wonders if he’s with Anakin and Ahsoka, or with his family. 

The corridor has no one in it, Saturday night generally being family night. Jesse and Kix had gone to Plo’s, joining Comet and the Wolfpack for a barbecue. Jango had taken Tup and Hardcase out for dinner at a restaurant, celebrating getting their grades back. Tup had scored quite high, getting an A in almost every subject. Hardcase had gotten slightly lower scores than his brother, the ADHD boy having had trouble focusing on complex tasks that the teachers would set him. He’s smart but likes to do his own thing. Instead he chooses to make things, little fidget toys or mini helicopters that actually manage to fly in some way that Cody doesn’t even pretend to understand. Echo loves it though, helping him out whenever he can. 

The students who stay in the game’s rooms are ones who don’t have a family, or whose family is each other. Some family members are dead, other students simply say they don’t have a family. There are many reasons, people kicking out their children for their sexuality or their gender, or simply just not liking who they’re related too. Views on important matters differ. He is pulled out of his thoughts by Fives tapping his shoulder, holding his hand out for the dorm key.  
His dorm is near empty, compared to the usual hordes of Fett family that basically inhabit it.   
Rex is lying half on half off of the couch, Echo curled in an armchair. The Pirates of the Caribbean playing on the TV has captivated both their short attention spans. Pizza dough sits on the bench, resting in the air. Cody strides over and turns on the oven before opening the fridge. The first year that Cody and Rex roomed together, they went out and brought Tupperware containers, Cody’s being gold and Rex’s being blue. However, Cody’s leftovers still have a habit of disappearing. Probably Fives or Echo. It would make sense. Fives tosses his soccer bag onto the floor, then leaps onto the couch, catapulting Rex off and onto the floor. Rex hisses at him, grabbing his shirt and yanking him down to wrestle. Echo rolls over, filming the fight, probably going to send it to The Fett Clan Jnr Group Chat.   
Cody dodges the ball of wrestling Fett, as they roll near to the bench, ignoring the way that Fives attempts to bite Rex. Learnt it from Wolffe’s pack. Little shits. The fridge is full, Rex having been given shopping allowance for the last week and going kind of nuts with choice. Cody pulls out the cheese, tomato base and ham. They’re his only ingredients, choosing to make a simple but delicious pizza. Echo has the most chaotic taste, vaulting over the couch to snatch a pineapple. Rex looks up, pinning his little brother under his weight.  
“Pizza? Cody can you make me a pepperoni? Don’t let that pineapple eating abomination put any on mine.” Fives shifts under him, poking his head out to the side, spitting pieces of the carpet out.  
“Echo, I want food.” Fives splutters, Rex shoving his head straight back into the carpet. Echo flips him off, practically a reflex action. He leans over, opening the fridge again, dumping the pre-sliced pepperoni in front of Cody, who shoves it to the side, dropping flour all over the bench to roll out the pizza dough. Its slightly sticky, and he dusts the rolling pin with flour, ignoring the way that Fives flips Rex into the couch. He makes 4 medium sized pizzas, and a whole bunch of mini ones that they can cook and have a snack at any time.   
Echo is next to him, slicing cheese and cutting ham. Cody places the pizza bases in front of him, grabbing the tomato base. He spreads it, Echo layering meats and cheese over the top. Then they slide the pizzas into the tiny oven, setting a small timer. By that time, Rex and Fives are still half-heartedly wrestling, flipping each other around. Cody dodges the leg that lashes through the air, Echo not moving as fast. The young Fett hits the ground hard, rolling around and swearing at the pair. Cody ignores the commotion, making his way onto the couch, pulling all the good pillows to himself. Echo joins him seconds later, curling tightly into his favourite armchair. The chair is soft, Echo basically drowning in the plush fabric. There is a tiny ping, Echo immediately going for his phone. He digs through the fabric, grabbing his phone and opening the snap that someone sent him. He snorts, nearly falling off of the chair. The video is loud, swearing and laughing over the speakers.   
“Rex get off Fives. He fucking needs to see this.” Echo says to Rex, ignoring the very rude gesture that he flips at him. Fives peels his head off of the floor, peering at the video. He cracks up laughing and looks to Cody.  
“Codes. Watch it.” He yelps as Rex stands up, grabbing his collar and hauling him into the air like a little lion cub. He slightly swings there, used to being hung in the air by all of his older siblings. Echo couldn’t lift him, Fives being slightly taller. Fives crosses his arms, sulking in mid-air, toes still brushing the ground. Then Rex moves forward, tossing Fives onto the couch and claiming the other armchair with a demon glare.   
Echo turns to Cody, showing the video. Hunt, the glitter maniac, is walking through a door, cautiously. He taps the bottom of it with his foot, pushing it open a slight bit. Satisfied with the fact that nothing bad has happened, he steps through the door, immediately diving to the side to avoid the mass of glitter that pours down from the top of the door. He swears, little flecks of glitter dusting his face and hoodie.   
“Melia!” He yells, seeing the girl behind the camera move. The camera angle shifts, flipping around to a selfie as the blue and brown-haired girl bolts away from her friend.  
“Yeah, so I’m probably about to get murdered, so I guess I’ll see you all in hell bitches.” A mad sounding laugh happens from behind the camera, the video cutting off soon after. Echo closes the video, opening up the chat. Ahsoka’s response is lots of chaotic emojis and a very blurry photo of her in her dorm with a girl who has spiky short dark hair poking out from behind a black bandanna. A set of diamond tattoos cover her nose and onto her cheeks. Echo takes a short video of Fives, curled in an almost contortionist pose on the couch, buried in pillows. At least he hasn’t stolen all of Cody’s pillows, still stacked on the other couch side, flower patterns a contrast to Rex’s black and white only pillows. He sends the video to the Group Chat, aptly titled The Chaos Children. From what he can see of the group chat, it seems to consist of almost entirely memes and old vines. The most popular thing sent appears to be the “What have you got? A knife! NO!” meme, usually from Ahsoka.

Echo’s phone pings repeatedly, attracting the attention of both Rex and Fives, snapping up from their positions lounged over the couch and chairs. Fives rolls around on his chair, untangling his phone from his hoodie. They open whatever was said by someone on the chat. Rex stands up, leaning over Fives’s shoulder and snatching his phone.   
“Give it back.” Fives whines, trying to snatch it back, struggling out of his pillow horde, failing to reach his phone as Rex moves it out of his grasp. Cody moves to the kitchen island, leaning against it, watching the chaos unfold. Echo re-starts the TV, turning it up to a volume that drowns out the squabbling. Cody grabs his own phone, taking a short video of the mess in front of him. He opens up the Fett Clan Jnr Group Chat, sending the video.

Fett Clan Jnr GC   
Codes: attachment vid-idiots  
Foxy Furry: Well that looks normal  
Jesse messy: Yeah. It is for us  
Heelix: Isn’t it normal for every Fett household?  
Ponds: Ours never looks like this.  
Blyndly in love: Really? Have you even been in our house at the same time as Thorn and Thire when they’re arguing? Because it looks a lot like that video.  
Ponds: Yeah, I usually avoid being at home when that happens. Mace is always open to letting me sleep over.   
Foxy Furry: And that is more about your love life than I ever needed to know.  
High Fives: How the hell is Kit OK with you guys being sappy all over the dorm all the time?

Ah. So, Fives has his phone back. Cody looks over, seeing Fives sitting on the couch ignoring how Rex is glaring at him with the force of a sun. Echo stretches out over his chair, hair flopping into his face slightly. Cody kicks off of his stool and jumps onto the kitchen bench, leaning back to check the oven. The pizzas must be nearly done, but they probably need another minute. 

Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Ponds: Well he’s in the pool or on the soccer pitch 90% of the time, so he doesn’t bother to hang around much. But he’s pretty cool with it.  
High Fives: He bitches about it at practise after we have to run laps and Mace is annoying him. Blackmail  
Blyndly in love: Wouldn’t think he had it in him to do that  
High Fives: Clearly you have never had to run 20 laps in pouring rain with Mace bitching at you about watching your speed all the time. It’s a life changing experience. You want to blackmail him   
Comety: Soccer is just the best place for gossip.  
High Fives: Yeah, because you are still in the Junior team and you have to do less unless we need a sub  
Comety: Yeah, but still gossip gets spilt

A shrill ringing pierces through the background noise of Pirates of the Caribbean. Cody, startled, falls off of his bench, hitting his shoulder on the wooden floor. He swears softly, cursing whichever brother did something stupid. Echo curls up on the couch, swearing loudly as Fives and Rex yell at each other. Then Rex lunges forward, snatching a broom up and smacking it into the smoke detector, knocking it off of its mounting on the roof, clunking onto the floor, causing it to beep softly then stop ringing. The smell of burning becomes clear. Cody peels himself off the floor and races to the oven, pulling out the pizza tray. A cloud of black smoke accompanies the tray as he dumps it on the bench. The oven is still burning, Cody reaches in with his mitts and snatches a cupcake off the bottom of the oven, holding the entirely black ashy thing in the air.   
“Who the actual hell left this in there?” He demands, brandishing the cupcake like a weapon. From the expression of his siblings, it might as well be. Rex shrugs, the others quickly following suit.   
“Probably Jesse. He broke their oven.” Echo says quickly, putting his phone down on the table. Cody sighs, dumping it into the bin. He grabs the window, pulling it open and breathing in the cool night air.  
“I’m not fixing the fucking smoke alarm.” He grumbles, grabbing his pizza and heading over to the couch. His phone buzzes on the table. Rex goes for it, pulling up the message.  
“Who’s Obi?” He says. Fives and Echo snap upright, heads tilting in scary sync.   
“Obi Wan? Obi Wan Kenobi? From games night?” Fives asks, shit eating grin growing. Echo takes a photo of Cody as he squirms around on the couch awkwardly., suffering under the combined grins and glares.  
“Yes.” He growls, snatching his phone and checking the text. It’s simple. Just a time and location. Then a few smiley emojis. He grins, ignoring his family and writes back. 

Obi Wan  
Obi: Dex’s Diner. At 1 pm?  
Obi: 😊   
Obi: I didn’t think you were actually going to organise a date  
Obi: My last few relationships have been somewhat disappointing.  
Cody: Of course I wrote back  
Cody: You seem really nice  
Cody: See you tomorrow then

He looks up and sees his brothers, lined up with massive grins and eyebrows raised. Cody collapses onto the couch, pulling his pillow close and hugging it before playing the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The fire alarm goes off again, shattering all their eardrums. It rolls around on the wood, little red lights flashing. Cody whips around and points at Rex with the remote.  
“I said that I’m not fixing the smoke detector.” He says, flipping off his twin, before sighing and biting into his pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tup has anxiety and Hardcase has ADHD.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody has to deal with his family and the chaos they create, while trying to get to his date

Cody sits on the kitchen island, computer resting in his lap. Rex had gone down to the gym an hour previously, needing to work on his ability to toss Fives around. Echo and Fives had left early, or from one point of view, late. Fives had been wanting to go shopping for new soccer boots, having gotten mud all the way through his torn old pair. Echo had been texted by Anakin, who had gotten his prosthetic sopping wet and filled with mud and grass. They snuck down to the Mechanics labs early, wanting to avoid being questioned by teachers. After all, Anakin had a date, and didn’t want to show up hand-less.  
The toaster pings, a slice of toast flying through the air. Cody turns, putting his computer onto a chair and grabbing a plate. He snatches the toast, hissing at the rush of hot air. He butters it, and quickly grabs peanut butter and spreads it over the top, before taking a massive bite. A phone beeps in his pocket and he quickly swallows the mouthful, snatching it out.

Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Wooooolffe: So, is it true Cody? Do you have a date?  
Codes: Fuck off  
Ponds: That’s technically not a no  
Smexy Rexy: He does  
High Fives: Its today  
Echo echo echo: We set him up with a hot guy  
Jesse messy: The one from games night?  
Kixystix: I hate this chat  
Wooooolffe: YES CODY  
Wooooolffe: Finally getting some action!  
Codes: You are all dead to me

He closes the group chat and climbs off the bench, socks slipping on the wood floor, nearly causing him to do a perfect sock slide, almost dropping his computer. He ignores the pillows on the floor, hopping over a few to reach his bedroom.  
Cody’s room is small, as is every Republic dorm. He had painted the walls sunny yellow when he moved in, little tints of gold shining in the light from his window. His desk sits behind the door, white top with a swivel chair that he had to fight Rex for. A soft fluffy yellow rug covers the floor, like a little fragment of the sun fell to Earth. A pair of large windows sit above his bed, dark grey curtains pulled back to reveal the Campus grounds. He sits down on the bed and plugs in his computer, dumps his phone on the nightstand, before flopping back onto the mattress, sighing softly. The stick-on glowing stars above him glow dimly in the light flooding his room. The cup containing pens and pencils on the desk roll off as he accidently kicks the faulty leg that a drunk Jesse broke, and he just props up with a textbook.  
“Shit!” He yelps, rolling over and lunging towards the desk, attempting to grab the cup. Cody misses, swiping through the air, nearly flying off the bed. He sighs, tugging himself back onto the bed, before face planting and groaning into the mattress. He screams softly while face down, peeling his face off to check the time. 12:37. He sits up, pulling his phone off the table and opening up messages. The diner that Obi had texted him about was only a while off campus, being a popular place for students from every school, 8-minute walking distance from Republic. The time Obi said was 1pm. That means he might be a bit early, but hey, he can enjoy the view while walking. 

He rolls off the bed, flopping into the plush carpet face-first. The carpet slips on the floor, nearly sliding out from under Cody’s feet. He grabs the door and climbs to his feet. His Cantina Band shirt is rumpled, and he attempts to straighten it, failing horribly. He looks through his drawers, searching for a hoodie. There’s none in the drawers or around his room. Cody leans around the door and peers into the bathroom, looking to the washing basket. Beneath the piles of laundry sits his favourite hoodie, the soft gold fabric stuck underneath Rex’s tracksuit pants and one of Fives’s soccer socks. It’s always only one. He never manages to leave two socks. The blue sock has white stripes near the top and the Republic logo on the side. And to make it worse, it has covered parts of his hoodie in mud. He rolls his eyes. Rex always has some spare hoodies. 

He races into Rex’s room, nearly hitting the wall. Rex’s room is a lot messier than his, light blue painted badly on the walls and ceiling. His wardrobe, painted dark grey, is open. A series of hoodies and tops swing from black hangers, pants shoved underneath them. Shoes are stacked on the bottom layer. Cody yanks out three of the hoodies, lying them across Rex’s still not folded bed. The three are all different, a dark grey jumper, a hoodie with dark blue at the top that fades to light aqua at the bottom. The final jumper is dark forest green with a silver stripe down each arm and no hood. It contrasts with his black pants, showing off his tan skin. He pulls it over his head, causing his already crazed curls into a knotty mess. He closes Rex’s room door and slips around the door into the bathroom.

The bathroom is well lit, mirror having been nearly knocked down by a sleepy Echo. Cody rummages through the under-sink cupboard and digs out a hairbrush, running it through his wayward curls. It snags and he winces, swearing lightly, tugging at the stubborn knot. The dark brown curls seem to fight back, nearly yanking the brush out of his hand. His formerly military regulation cut, kept neat by Jango and a pair of clippers, has descended into chaos since University. Rex keeps his shorn short, blonde straight hair out of his face. Cody on the other hand, has hair that refuses to co-operate in any circumstances, that returns to chaos after 3 seconds. Jesse had once straightened Cody’s hair on a dare and now holds blackmail photos. Every now and then he sends the photo to the group chat to keep Cody on his toes. As the Admin, he holds some power, ejecting his siblings when they annoy him. Which, to say the least, is quite often. Then they bully him non-stop until he allows them back.  
He pulls open the bottom drawer in his dresser and grabs out his silver and black striped Vans, sliding them over his gold and black spotted socks. Then he runs his fingers through his already knotty hair and sighs softly. Cody shoves his phone into his pocket and grabs the keys to his dorm and snatches up his earphones, walking out of the dorm room, turning to lock it. 

The second he enters the corridor; he has to drop into a crouch. A soccer ball kicked by Quinlan Vos soars over Cody’s ducked head. The man himself, long dreadlocks bouncing around his head, yellow stripe across his nose crinkled up by his charming smile, bolts after the ball, nearly knocking Cody over. According to Fives, the already crazy man gets even madder when drunk. He swings around, booting the ball back in the direction it came from. A cheer from down the hall surrounds them and Quinlan jumps into the air, kicking off the wall. Cody frowns, ignoring the celebrating person and basically bolts for the stairway. 

He untangles his earphones, quietly cursing the fact that they somehow manage to curl into knots every time he looks away. They plug into his phone, and he opens music, immediately playing the Cantina Band’s latest album. Boba had found the band when they were children, choosing to blast it over the speakers whenever Jango left the house in Boba’s hands. The neighbours would always complain about the “Crazy Fett children playing music at all hours!”. Jango simply told them to piss off.

Once out of the dorms, it’s only a bit quieter. Birds nest in the trees surrounding campus, fluttering through the clear air. Cody leaps to one side to avoid bikes zooming past. People are spread out under the trees, lying around, and talking. He can see Anakin, lying on a picnic blanket with Padme, a basket of food sitting next to them. A black glove covers his prosthetic, probably to hide the damage caused by playing soccer in the rain. A soccer ball bounces along the grass next to him and Cody looks down, startled. The group that kicked it is the Junior soccer team, the one Comet plays for. His cousin raises a hand and waves, gesturing at the ball. Cody does a small run up, then boots the ball straight at his cousin, surprising him and making him leap out of the way with a shout of surprise. He flips off Cody, spitting grass out of his mouth and wiping down his shirt. They do that a lot. Most of Cody’s relatives forget that he used to play soccer and was well on track to getting a scholarship. That all changed when Grievous, now a striker for the men’s Separatist team, got jealous of his success and decided to try and scare him off the course alongside with a few of his goonish friends. The scars Cody received are still there, faded, but still slightly visible. The formerly broken leg and the slight limp he has after exercise remain. In particular, the one that curves around his left eye stands out, even behind makeup. He was lucky to not lose the eye, but the scar he received has faded to a pale white, still visible against his tan face.  
The campus begins to end as he strides past the security gate, smiling at the fact that Fox, doing temporary work is sitting in the box, with a psychology book on his lap. He looks so concentrated, not even bothering to look up at Cody’s passing. So, he gently raps on the glass, causing Fox to drop his book and shoot to his feet, immediately dropping into a perfect fighting stance. When he sees Cody, he straightens up, flipping his cousin off with a grumpy expression. Cody smiles in return, scanning his pass and walking through the fence. 

Wind whistles through the trees surrounding the street, knotting Cody’s curls, and sending them into disarray. He sighs in frustration, tucking his arms deeper into the jumper he borrowed from Rex. It’s surprisingly sturdy. The silver stripes on the sleeves match his striped Vans, standing out against the dark green jumper and black pants. Leaves dance in the drafts of air, twirling in gentle patterns. The song playing is gentle, probably not Cantina Band anymore. A car races past him, tossing leaves and flowers into the sky. A leaf, dark red, flips in circles, floating onto Cody’s shoulder. He brushes it off and pulls out his phone.

Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Jesse messy: We weren’t before?  
Wooooolffe: Dang Cody  
Wooooolffe: I’m insulted  
Wooooolffe: I thought you loved us  
Foxy Furry: Little bastard just snuck up on me. Spilt my fucking coffee  
Codes: First off, you were reading and not scanning people. Bad security guard  
Ponds: Second? It’s Fett rule 3 to never mess with caffeine.  
Codes: Secondly, Fuck you  
Foxy Furry: ☹  
Smexy Rexy: Abomination  
Blyndly in love: Ya think?  
Comety: That thing is an absolute demon I swear  
Waxering: Thanks, I hate it  
Wooooolffe: So, Cody, what were you saying about a date? A date that cost me money?  
Comety: A date that won me money?  
Stinky Sinky: A date that made Wolffe tear out a bit of my arm?  
Heelix: A date that meant that Kix and I had to give Sinker emergency stitches two hours before a test on stitches?  
Wooooolffe: Again, that was an accident  
Boosted: Totally  
Boiling with anger: That date?  
Codes: Yes  
Codes: It’s that date  
Codes: And if any of you crash my date, I will commit a fucking murder and no-one will stop me  
Kixystix: They won’t  
Jesse messy: What are you going to do Kix? Stab me?  
Kixystix: Yes  
Comety: A fucking book just fell down onto his desk and he screamed so loudly  
Comety: The book was called How to Get Away with Murder  
Heelix: It’s a sign.  
Kixystix: That is my final warning  
Comety: He’s hiding under the desk now.  
High Fives: And that is why you don’t piss off Kix  
High Fives: Hey fam, I need help  
High Fives: Which boots? Melia and I can’t decide  
High Fives: attachment png-boot1  
High Fives: attachment png-boot2

The boots Fives and Melia have narrowed it down to are a new balance boot in dark blue, with turquoise highlights and a red pair, that fades to white near the heel. For Cody, it’s an easy choice.

Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Comety: The blue ones go with the uniform and look more supportive for the ankles. Cody?  
Codes: Blue  
Boosted: Did you say Melia?  
Echo echo echo: Yep. They went shopping for boots together. Wonder why they are taking so long  
High Fives: Melia dragged me into a bookstore and a few clothes stores  
Smexy Rexy: You love her though  
High Fives: I will neither confirm or deny that accusation  
Echo echo echo: You guys are sappy idiots.  
High Five: Melia says she’s going to kill you  
High Fives: Run while you still have legs  
Codes: Got to go. By the way Wolffe, you are getting kicked out  
Wooooolffe: DON’T YOU DARE  
Wooooolffe has been kicked out by admin  
Codes: Bye  
Smexy Rexy: He's gonna kill you.  
Codes: Not my problem. I welcome death

He exits the chat and stares up at the building in front of him.  
Dex’s Diner. The little building has been near campus for years, replacing a bar that was known for its nightlife. Zam used to visit it, telling all the young Fett children about her University adventures. The outside is unassuming, exploding into fireworks once you enter. The diner has little booths, a curving seat wrapping around a small circular table. Black and white tiles cover the floor, extending into a mural of stars and starships that soars over the ceiling and all over the walls. The ships painted are all different, the bright colours breaking up both the dark mural and the stars. Constellations gleam like diamonds strung on pure velvet. Strings of fairy lights dance across the mural, glowing like fireflies.

Cody, the first there, picks out a booth. The mural on that wall has nebulas painted and little fighter ships soaring through the space around it. A little note names it the Kaliida Nebula. Creatures, Neebray, with long wings circle the red nebula, shadowing the ships that brave the deep space. The little ships have things painted on the side, words in a language, one that Cody has no idea how to read. Echo would probably know, having formed a friendship with the owner, creating words in a language for it. He runs his finger across the wall, tracing the starburst pattern painted with a gentle gold. The menu is black, little stars painted on the glossy colour; Dex’s Diner scrawled across the front in a yellow block font. Cody opens it up, looking at the photos of the food. A few catch his eye, “May the Fudge Be with You” looks particularly good, a dark chocolate fudge sundae with chunks of brownies. He checks his watch, seeing the time. It’s 1.03 pm and there is a message from Obi and several from the Fett Clan Chat. He ignores the Fett Clan messages, immediately opening the messages from Obi.  
Obi Wan  
Obi: Hi Cody, I’m just going to be a little bit late. Family issues. Please grab a drink or something if you want to wait  
Obi: We can reschedule if you want  
Cody: It’s all cool. Take as much time as you need.

He places the phone down and grabs the menu back up. Everything seems to be themed to Republic or Separatist University, being the closest places. Cody scans the photos and descriptions, eventually deciding on a Jawa Jive Milkshake, going for the Double Chocolate. He walks up to the front and orders before strolling back to his booth and relaxing into the cushions to wait for Obi Wan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I kinda dragged out the date. Sorry


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far, I think this is my favorite chapter that I've written. Enjoy

For a Double Chocolate milkshake, Dex’s Diner has pretty good ones. Cody sips from a paper straw, holding the cool glass mason jar by the handle. The jar has a chocolate thick shake inside, chocolate buttercream is smeared around the top of the mug, Maltesers and choc chips stuck into the icing. Little chopped Maltesers are mixed through the thick shake, a veritable pile of whipped cream piled on the top. Chocolate sauce swirls around the inside of the jar, the thick shake smearing the pattern. A small chocolate ice-cream scoop sits on top of the cream, extra chocolate sauce crossing the top in intricate swirls. Cody takes another sip, tasting the malt and chocolate flavours. He scrolls through Instagram, seeing the stories of Melia and Fives posing for photos, him holding her tightly, kissing her cheek softly. The next photo appears to be her turning to kiss his cheek, caught in the act with guilty expression. The other photo is Melia and Fives posing with the soccer boots, holding up the bright blue pair. Her hair is out of the braids, in a high ponytail that swings over her shoulder. Cody smiles, looking at their blissful expressions. A little ping signals an incoming message. He closes Instagram and opens up the message. 

Obi Wan  
Obi: Thank you so so much  
Obi: I will be along very soon I promise.  
Obi: Feel free to order   
Cody: Do you want me to order anything for you?  
Obi: Dex is family. Tell him the Obi special  
Cody: Sure. Doing it now

Cody finishes his drink, stands, drops it off at a washing window before walking to the front. A waitress stands behind the counter, a different waitress than the one who served him earlier. Her nametag reads Flo, and she is leaning backwards, chewing on bubble gum. He smiles, reading through the special’s menu behind her.   
“What can I get for you?” She says, smiling at Cody brightly.   
“Hi. Can I order the Chocolate Waffles and an Obi special?” He asks, pulling out some money. Flo straightens up, expression brightening instantaneously.   
“Obi? Obi Wan Kenobi? He’s here?” She pushes her short purple hair over her shoulder and fixes her uniform, the black skirt and top having little stars and planets drawn on it. Cody freezes, wondering who exactly Obi is to these people.  
“He’s not here yet. I’m meeting him here, but he had some family stuff come up.” Cody explains. Flo turns, walking to the kitchen hatch.  
“Dex! Obi is coming in!” She shouts. Almost immediately a head pops out. A middle-aged man with a bald head leans out of the kitchen, slightly stained white apron wrinkling as he turns to look at Flo. His smile is amazingly large, nearly identical to Kit Fisto’s.  
“Obi? He’s coming in. My favourite nephew?” He says happily, wiping his hands on a washcloth resting on the counter, looking around as if expecting Obi to materialise out of thin air. Cody stands there awkwardly, deciding to move his hands into his pockets, leaning onto the counter. Flo laughs, flipping her hair backwards.  
“No boss! He’s meeting this guy here.” She says, gesturing to Cody. Dex leans forward, smiling at Cody with a parental expression.  
“Oh. Hello there! I’m Dex. This is my diner. What’s your name?” He says, laughter in his tone.   
“Hi. I’m Cody.” He says awkwardly, moving his hands out of his pockets, combing through his hair, snagging on the knotted strands. Dex grins, moving out of the kitchen, brushing down his stained apron. He wipes his hands on a cloth before kicking open the kitchen door. Dex steps through. His apron catches and he pulls it lose, straightening the apron once it flew free.   
“A Cody? I know a Cody. You related to Echo?” He asks. Cody has to smile, knowing that his family is all over the campus.  
“Yeah. Echo is my brother. Younger by two years.” Cody answers, watching Dex’s face light up with recognition.   
“Cody Fett? Echo’s older brother who is Rex’s twin? The one who studies history and is obsessed with gold and has to deal with their bullshit and is a gay disaster?” Dex laughs, finally recognising him for Echo’s brother. Cody automatically rolls his eyes, smiling slightly.   
“Well I wouldn’t say I’m a gay disaster. But the other bits sound about accurate.” He says. Dex laughs, a chuckle that turns into a cough.  
“My lungs aren’t what they used to be. So, you’re here meeting with my Obi. Are you doing a project together or is it more personal matters?” He questions, leaning backwards against the wall and crossing his arms. Cody avoids his gaze, awkwardly smiling at Dex. He doesn’t want to be the one who tells a person someone else’s sexuality. Never. He knows how it feels to have someone unintentionally reveal your sexuality. Especially to those whom you are close too.  
“Uh. It’s a project.” He stammers. Flo grins understandingly, elbowing Dex gently. He catches the hint, nodding at Flo and nudging her back.  
“It’s OK Cody. If I hadn’t realised that Obi was bi by now, I would be a horrible Uncle. Believe me. All the workers in this diner are not straight. Flo?” He says, smiling down at his waitress. She flicks her purple hair back and smiles back.   
“I’m lesbian. The other waitress, Hermione, is pan. She’s my girlfriend. Been together for a few years now. We met here. Hermione has worked here since she was in high school. Dex adopted her.” Flo grins, her purple bracelets clinking together as she shrugs. Cody immediately feels a surge of relief at having avoided telling Obi’s sexuality to people. He knows what it feels like. To have someone accidently expose you. Luckily, his family had accepted it, allowing him to be himself. Not all people were that lucky. Most of his so-called friends had turned their backs on him. Dex looks over, patting Cody on the back.   
“It’s OK Cody. Some people don’t like my allowance of everyone wanting to be themselves. I’ve always wanted to give others a chance. So, what do you want to order?” Dex asks, straightening his apron and standing up. Cody pulls out his wallet and places a $20 note on the register.  
“I ordered Chocolate Waffles and the Obi special.” He says. Dex shakes his head rapidly.   
“No. No. No date of my nephew is going to pay. Flo, put it on the house.” He refuses, sliding the money back to him. His defiant expression almost begs for Cody to turn him down.  
“I can pay.” Cody says, it comes out as more of a question. Dex shakes his head again, ignoring the tinkle of the doorbell.  
“Nope. Flo, put it on the house and give Hermione the order docket. Let me know when he arrives.” He turns on his heel, going to walk back into the kitchen as Flo walks to her girlfriend, kissing her and handing her the docket.  
“Let you know when who arrives?” A cultured voice sounds from behind him and Cody jumps slightly. Obi laughs at Cody’s reaction, pushing some of his auburn hair out of his face after pulling off his cap. Dex moves forward, grabbing Obi and pulling him off his feet and swinging him around.  
“Obi!” Dex sings, ruffling his nephew’s hair and hugging him tightly. “You haven’t been to see your Uncle in so long! I was beginning to think you had forgotten me!” Obi squeaks from the hug, eyes wide from the force that his Uncle is grabbing him with.   
“Dex! I didn’t forget you! Just was a little bit busy. Can you let me down?” Obi yelps, being deposited messily on the floor by a happy Dex who grabs him and hauls him to his feet.  
“You didn’t bother to even tell me that you had a date! I had to find it out from your date himself!” He exclaims, messing up Obi’s hair even more. Obi groans, attempting to grab Dex’s hand as he combs his hair.   
“Yeah. Because I knew you would do this and mess up my hair. Not cool Dex.” He says in a mock angry tone, crossing his arms in fake anger. Dex laughs, messing up Obi’s hair even more.   
“No Obi, your hair was a mess anyway. You want your special? I’ll go make it for you. And Cody’s meal.” He smiles, getting in one more attempt at a hair ruffle before strolling back into the kitchen. Obi grins after him, turning to Cody, who immediately reaches down and helps him to his feet. He smiles, dusting some dust off himself then straightening his top. Cody doesn’t realise that he’s staring until he spots the slight blush rising up on Obi’s cheeks. Cody awkwardly gestures backwards, pointing at their booth.  
“Do you want to go sit down?” He asks softly, watching as Obi starts to smile, turning on his heel and walking back to the booth with him.

“I’m sorry I left you waiting so long.” Obi says, sliding into his side, leaning backwards on the cushions, his auburn messy hair contrasting with both his beige Republic hoodie and the dark booth, dropping his faded cap with pins all over it on the other end of the table. Cody’s gaze lingers on his lips and his soft eyes.  
“No. I wasn’t waiting that long. What was the issue?” Cody says, placing his phone on the table. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the messages from the Group Chat. They flood the notifications and he simply turns it off. Obi tenses slightly.  
“My dad. He was being a bastard.” Obi says, tone as frozen as a lake in winter. His tapping fingers still on the table. Cody feels a surge of guilt. Obi’s eyes turn to look at the entrance to the kitchens and Cody sees an opportunity to change the subject.   
“Is Dex really your Uncle?” Cody questions, leaning against the soft cushions. Obi smiles slightly, left side of his mouth quirking up. He taps the table again, neat nails clicking against the smooth tabletop.  
“Yeah he is. He’s adopted by my Dad’s family. So yeah, my adopted Uncle is Dex. That makes Hermione my cousin. She’s a flirt, but always means well. My Uncle tends to adopt kids that need to get away from families. Carrying on the strong tradition of saying Fuck you to our ancestors.” Obi says, tapping his fingers on the table to a beat only he can hear. “My family has always been conflicted. Dex tried to care for me after my dad went nuts. I decided to go my own way. So did Dex.” He smiles sadly. They sit there awkwardly, Obi still tapping the table while Cody kicks his own shoes gently. Cody tries to break the silence.  
“What is the Obi special?” He asks softly. Obi immediately snaps up, a mischievous smile beginning to form on the corners of his mouth. He raises one eyebrow and quirks up one side of his mouth.  
“You don’t know? Dex didn’t tell you?” He says, smiling with a expression near to Fives and Wolffe’s shit eating grins. Cody shakes his head and somehow the grin grows even larger. “Oh gods. Really Uncle?” He leans back, tilting his head in disbelief as Cody’s confused expression grows. “Oh boy. Well. Where do I start?” He smiles at the roof, nearly giggling.   
“Well I’m confused and intrigued.” Cody blurts out. He curses his actions silently then begins to smile as Obi Wan’s laughter doubles, the slightly shorter man clutching at his sides as he laughs. His laughter continues then breaks off, turning into a small coughing fit. Cody grabs one of the water glasses and hastily fills it, sliding it across the table to Obi, who takes it gladly and chugs it down.   
“Really Obi? Choking already?” The tall blond waitress walks up to the table, ignoring the way that Obi automatically flips her off. Cody chokes on the glass of water, realising exactly what she means, hastily coughing and spluttering to ignore the fact that a blush is rising on his cheeks. Obi looks at him, worry clear in his eyes. Cody nods and Obi smiles at him then turns to the waitress.   
“Nice to see you too Hermione. Is that our food?” He asks, reaching out for the sundae. She dodges his hand and moves to Cody’s side, placing the waffles in front of him.  
“If you had told me you were Obi’s date when you ordered earlier, I would’ve given you a discount.” She says, smiling then passing the sundae over to Obi, kisses his cheek and saunters back to the kitchens. They sit there for a second, simply observing the food, Cody’s waffles a stark contrast to Obi’s sundae. Obi’s is strawberry and vanilla ice cream, chunks of strawberry cheesecake littering the top and strawberry meringue kisses. Vanilla fudge and strawberries balance on the small swirls of whipped cream that sit in the glass bowl. Strawberry syrup is swirled over the sundae, finishing the look. A pair of spoons with hearts on the handle on the side of the bowl. Cody ignores the blush that still rises to his cheeks as a result of Hermione’s words, focusing on his own meal. His waffles are crisp, the sweet waffle base has Nutella and chocolate dribbled on it, a mass of berries placed on the side. A little ramekin of ice cream sits next to the berries. He picks up his fork and grabs some berries, attempting to ignore the way that Obi’s storm blue eyes focus onto his lips briefly when he pops the berries into his mouth.   
Obi grasps his spoon and the bowl, moving some of the sweet sundae onto the spoon before sticking it into his mouth. His expression changes instantly, melting into a peaceful smile, eyes slightly crinkling at the corners. They eat in peace for a few moments before Obi scoops some of the sundae onto the spare spoon and holds it out to Cody.   
“Try some. You might like it.” He says mischievously, holding the spoon with a dare in his eyes. Cody is never one to back down, so he grabs the spoon, brushing Obi’s fingers. He eats a bite, the sweet and cold dessert being melt in the mouth perfect. He closes his eyes, savouring the way that the creamy vanilla and sweet strawberry syrup mix together. The little bits of marbled meringue and fudge on top make the flavour even better, slightly crunchy, and strawberry and vanilla mixing in a firework of taste. He sighs in pleasure, licking the spoon clean. Obi has a massive smile as Cody looks at him.  
“Nice?” He sounds strangely concerned, almost making sure its OK. If Cody had to eat one food for the rest of his life, this would be a close contender for the food, right up there with anything Tup bakes.   
“This is literally the best sundae I have ever had in my life.” Cody answers. Obi’s grin grows and he looks relieved. “Why isn’t it on the main menu?” Obi raises his eyebrows, grabbing his phone from his pocket and searching through it. He finds what he’s looking for and slides the phone across the table  
“Read that one.” He says. Cody peers forwards, eyeing the phone. It’s a photo of a menu. Dex’s diner is written on the top, little gold and silver hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds circling around the bright red edges. White scrolling writing declares the “Full stack of cards.” There are sundae options, based off each type of suit. One catches his eye and he looks at the Hearts option. It is described as a strawberry spectacle with classy undertones. That, from what Cody has seen of Obi, seems to suit him. He looks up, seeing the expectant expression.  
“Hearts?” He says nervously. Obi pulls up his sleeve, revealing a tiny red love heart inked onto his wrist.  
“Yeah. My family was kinda fucked up, so I made that when messing around in Anakin’s kitchen one night. Dex came for a visit and I made one for him and then he asked if I’d like to make more of the same. That whole page is my creation. Made all the recipes. Because my family used to say we weren’t playing with a full deck of cards. So that’s why it’s the Obi special. Because I used to come in here whenever I was sad and make that. And because it’s a fuck you to my family. They just made it a special.” He smiles, twisting his wrist from side to side, catching it in the light. Cody sees the little sparkles of glitter and reaches out, pressing his finger against the red heart. Obi tenses slightly, pulse rising beneath the soft fingers, eyes following the way that Cody gently slides his fingers across the tattoo and holds them up into the light. Glitter stains his finger as he raises his eyebrows.   
“Couldn’t get the glitter off?” He asks, mischief on his face. Obi breaks into a grin, tapping his fingers against Cody’s.   
“Well I did have a very brave guy take the glitter for me, so I think I’m OK.” He interlocks his fingers with Cody’s who smiles at the bold move. They sit there smiling, before Obi pulls away.   
“Sorry. Didn’t want my sundae to melt. Can I have some of your waffles? Switch?” He asks playfully, snatching a piece of Cody’s waffles the second he nods in agreement. Cody mock gasps, grabbing the sundae bowl and sliding his spoon through the ice cream, piling as much of the sweet sauce and ice cream onto the spoon as he can. Obi laughs at the way that Cody desperately attempts to counter the thievery of his waffles, moving to sword fight with a spoon. They lunge at each other with the spoons, snatching bits of each other’s food, laughter swirling like the wind through the air around them. Dex leans on his counter, smiling softly at them, glad his nephew is happy and letting down his guard.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More CodiWan fluff

By the time they finish flirting while sword fighting with spoons, the ice cream is nearly melted. It still tastes perfect, Cody swishing his spoon through the last scraps. Obi is leaning against the cushions, legs curled up. He uses his own spoon to pick up the last bits of waffles left. The other customers in the diner are doing similar things, curled up with computers or books. Some are curled up with people, sitting close to them. Flo and Hermione stand near the counter, Hermione kissing Flo before walking back into the kitchen to aid her adopted father with the orders. Cody finishes the sundae, moving the bowl to the side and pushing his hair out of his face. His green jumper with the silver stripes is too thick for the diner’s temperature, causing him to strip it off and straighten his crumpled Cantina Band t-shirt underneath. Obi’s face lights up in recognition of the band. He rummages around for the cap he had on when he first arrived, holding it out to Cody. He takes it, reading through the pins. A bisexual pride pin sits front and centre, pins with the Council and Republic logo next to it. A pin has the Cantina Band logo on it, breaking Cody out in a grin.   
“You like Cantina Band too?” He asks. Obi’s answering nod lights a small kernel of happiness in his chest and he hands the cap back. “My brother started playing their songs to our family when I was 6. Or around that age.” Cody smiles, bringing up the memories of Boba and Rex dancing around the house screaming out the lyrics to the songs. When they have sleepovers to celebrate someone’s birthday, they all stay up late listening to Cantina Band and watching shitty spy movies, screeching at the screen when the people make bad mistakes or stupid alliances. Most of the time, Jango retires to bed early, getting so irritated by the bad portrayals of military life that he sits there, having a full mental breakdown. It is pretty much inevitable. Either that or the entire group watching the movie starts screaming at the screen.  
“Your family sounds fun. Also very chaotic. Tell me about your family. Do all of them go to Republic University?” He questions, sipping from his water glass. Cody smiles, it always returns to his family sooner or later. He places the spoon onto the side of the bowl and links his hands together, leaning on them with his chin.   
“Most of them do. Quite a few are not old enough yet, but still most of them attend Republic University.” He states. Obi nods, gesturing for him to continue. “So, there are 6 Fett kids in my year. Bly, Ponds, Fox, Wolffe, Rex and I. Only two of them have love lives. Ponds is dating Mace Windu, and Bly is dating Aayla Secura. Then we have Boost, Sinker, Comet, Waxer, Boil and Helix. Thorn, Thire, Crys, Shaeeah and Jek aren’t old enough for university. My siblings are Boba, 3 years older than me, Rex, my twin, Fives and Echo, Jesse and Kix, Hardcase and Tup. Tup and Hardcase are only 14, so they aren’t at University yet. All my other siblings are attending except Boba, who graduated and immediately moved away from all of us. My dad is ex-military. So he was kinda strict.” He clarifies, smiling slightly at how Obi begins counting on his fingers as if attempting to figure out exactly how many relatives he has. It’s near impossible to figure it out, even Cody being confused at points. Obi pauses, realising exactly what his family has done.  
“Wait a minute. Your dad is military? And he is OK with all of this?” He asks, brows furrowed. Cody pauses, not really sure what he means. Obi presses his lips onto a flat line of worry. “Didn’t your dad go crazy when you came out?” He asks worriedly. Cody stops in his tracks, seeing the pain in Obi Wan’s deep blue eyes.  
“My family is fine with me being gay. My dad’s sister is lesbian, and they all got used to it pretty damn soon, because Zam would’ve kicked all of their butts until they accepted and appreciated it. Didn’t your family?” The silence grows awkward and Obi swallows multiple times, stress visible on his face. “Shit. I should not have asked that. I’m sorry Obi. You don’t have to answer.” He replies, moving his hand across the table and grasping Obi’s slightly. The man’s face relaxes slightly, stress draining as he takes comfort from Cody.  
“It’s OK. I want to answer.” He pauses softly, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. His breathing and pulse steady as Cody squeezes his hand. “I want to tell you. I will tell you. Just give me a minute.” Obi presses his back against the pillows, breathing in and out slowly. His fingers tap against Cody’s pulse point, matching up their heart rates. Obi softly draws the love heart tattooed on his wrist onto Cody’s, swishing his finger over Cody’s smooth tanned skin. He sighs, opening his eyes and staring into Cody’s. “OK. Let’s start. So, my dad is called Qui Gon Jin. I changed my name to Kenobi. I came out as bisexual to him when I was 14. He kicked me out, saying that he didn’t want trash for a son. So, I moved in with Anakin. Anakin proved that people still cared for me, and his mother, Shimi, adopted me. I changed my name to Kenobi in order to leave my family behind. Dex is the only one I kept in contact with. Because he accepted me.” He stops for a second, smiling slightly at Cody’s shocked expression. “Yeah. I know. Very tragic. My dad contacted me for the first time in nearly 10 years today. So, I talked with him and while he claimed that he changed, he was still the same homophobic bastard. He tried to tell me to repent or burn. I told him to fuck off and left. That’s why I was late.” He nods to his phone. Cody holds his hand tightly and squeezes.  
“Shit Cody. I’m so so so sorry.” Cody apologises, guilt overwhelming his logic as he realises that he brought the topic up and that it’s his fault that his date is sitting across from him, sorrow plastered across his face.  
“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. Its not your fault. My family made their choices, and I’m glad I left when I did.” He brushes his hair back and pushes off the table. “Do you want to walk back to campus? I don’t want to discuss anything about my father in front of Dex. He kinda cut off everyone in our family after what they did to me. Can we go?” He asks gently, standing and waving to Flo and Hermione. Cody stands up as well, nodding at Obi. They walk to the exits, Dex moving out of the kitchen. He hugs Obi tightly then turns to Cody as he looks on.  
“Don’t be a stranger Cody. Anyone who Cody likes is automatically part of the family, especially when they’re also a Fett. Any family of Echo is always welcome here. Don’t bother paying either.” He hands him a little card, Dex’s Diner written on it in block letters, with the words Cody Fett written on the back in small letters. “It’s a members card. You are now a member of our family.” He states calmly. Cody accepts it, sticking it into the back of his phone case.   
“Thank you Dex.” He says softly. Dex nods, Flo and Hermione waving at him and Obi as they leave. 

They walk back to campus together, sharing the earphones, listening to Cantina Band. Little leaves dance around them, swirling through the air. He kicks a few leaves up into the air, turning to Obi as the chilly wind swirls around them. His soft green jumper with silver striped sleeves protects him from the worst of the wind, the worst that it’s doing is ruffling up his hair. Obi smiles, booting a few leaves up.  
“Hey Cody. How did you get the scar around your eye? It looks really painful.” Obi asks innocently, tracing the pattern of the scar around his own eye. Cody stops walking, nearly tripping on his toes.  
“Well I used to play soccer and people got mad at me for my choices.” He starts. Obi looks surprised.   
“Wait. You played soccer?” He says, looking Cody up and down.  
“Yeah. I used to play soccer. Used to. I was on the way to getting a scholarship, but Grievous decided he wanted it more than me and a few of his friends beat me up to try and stop me. They broke my leg and gave me a bunch of scars. I still limp when I exercise. The scar round my eye is still there and its ugly, but I think it suits me. Grievous changed his name to Qymaen. And then he lied and said that it wasn’t him, tossed his friends under the bus to succeed and get a stupid scholarship at Separatist. I kinda like my scar. Gives me a mysterious look.” He finishes, attempting a laugh. Obi leans into him, reaching for his face. Cody tenses slightly, allowing Obi to brush his finger against the scar, tracing its hooked shape. He cups Cody’s cheek in one hand, Cody leaning into it.   
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. It does suit you. Makes you look scary.” He murmurs, moving his hand back to holding Cody’s. They walk closer to the school and Cody sees Fox’s guard box and pulls out his student ID card. They walk closer and Cody reaches out to scan his pass.  
When Cody scans his pass in order to open the gate, the machine doesn’t buzz like usual. He frowns, trying it again. Same thing happens and he turns to Obi shrugging. A crackle comes from the intercom near the guard box and he whirls around, fixing Fox with his best possible glare. His cousin grins, holding the intercom button down.  
“Hello you absolute bastard.” He says evilly. Cody sighs, seeing Obi’s confused expression.   
“Hi Fox. Don’t suppose you could open the security gate?” He tries to ask. The earphones that he and Obi are sharing are blaring music and he takes out his phone and pauses.  
“Really Cody? You think I’d let you in after that stunt you pulled? You made me spill my coffee. That’s rule three. So, suck it. I’m not letting you in.” He says triumphantly, grinning like a supervillain. Cody rolls his eyes. Obi quickly pulls his hand out of Cody’s grip, stepping forward and looking at Fox.  
“Hi. Fox is it?” He says diplomatically. Fox nods neatly and Obi smiles. “Look. Its been a difficult day, so could you please let us in.” Fox shakes his head and Obi shrugs slightly. “Hey, it’s not my problem if you want to be a pain and pull this kinda stuff in order to get some sort of twisted revenge. So, if you want to lock us out, feel free.” Fox shrugs at the statement.  
“OK.” He answers, doing a slow wave motion at them before turning off the intercom with a pointed gesture and grasping his textbook. Cody flips him off as he turns his spinning chair around and ignores them. He steps backward and leans against the brick wall, one foot up. He pulls out his phone, turning the music fully off. Obi turns to Cody and sighs.

“What do we do now?” He asks and puts one of his earphones back in. Cody walks over to the box and raps on it impatiently. Fox spins around on his chair, lowering his book and glaring at his cousin.  
“The fuck do you want Cody?” He says, irritated by the fact he can’t read in peace.   
“Let us in or I will bitch on the Group Chat about how much of a bastard you are.” Cody threatens. Fox shakes his head, letting his hair flop back into his face and spinning his chair in the other direction. At this point, Cody’s temper is boiling. He’s been stuck there, and Obi is simply leaning against the wall, auburn hair curling over his forehead. He returns to the wall, opening up the notes folder to the Fett Rules note.

It’s a photo of the original, the 10 main rules written in Echo’s neat writing, with the scrawling signatures of every Fett Kid on the bottom. The first one is “No Glitter. NO. Absolutely zero.”. The second is “To not dob to parents”. The third reads that “DO NOT FUCK WITH THE CAFFINE SUPPLY. DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE.”. He ignores the rest, scrolling down to point number 9. Point 9 says that “If a Fett has any sort of romance or date, you do not fuck it up. Never. You assist with their love in any way possible. Even if it hurts you to do so.” Cody grins, checking the bottom of the page for Fox’s signature. It’s there, written in bright red ink. Fox’s writing is small with curls on the letters. Technically, Cody is on a date. And that meant that Fox, having signed the agreement, has to help in any way possible. It’s the Uno Reverse card Cody can pull. He taps on the guard box, gesturing to the door at the back. Obi watches, tracking his elegant movements with a practised eye. Fox stands, exasperation clear on his face. He opens the door, letting Cody into the Guard area. Fox puts a bookmark into the textbook and places it onto the rack on the side that contains his bags.   
“Hello there Cody. What is so important that you can’t say it in front of your boyfriend?” He sighs, leaning his cheek onto his closed fist. His cheek is scrunched up and he looks really tired. Cody would feel sorry for him if he weren’t currently blocking his date. Cody holds his phone out in front of Fox and opens the picture.  
“Read number 9.” He states. Fox leans in, peering at the picture. He squints at it, muttering the words he’s reading under his breath. He finishes and looks at Cody.  
“So what?” Fox asks, confusion in his voice. Cody leans forward, massive grin forming on his face.  
“Well Fox, Number 9 reads that you have to assist me with love in any way possible. And you’re not helping by not letting me into the campus. You signed it, and you have to obey it, or every Fett gets pissed off at you. Come on. Let us in. You have to.” His voice turns pleading and he turns of his phone. Fox sighs, leaning forward and placing his elbows onto his knees.   
“OK Cody. I will let you in. But I know that you never get much of a chance with guys so take this one chance and go for it.” His cousin is being strangely nice, and Cody pats his shoulder. Fox nods, tapping the button. “Just scan your pass again and it will work.”  
“Thanks Fox. I appreciate it. Really.” Cody says softly, brushing his hair off his forehead, ignoring the way his fingers snag on the thick curls. Fox smiles at him, pulling at the hem of Cody’s jumper.  
“What kind of cousin would I be if I didn’t help? Actually no. Don’t answer that.” Fox stands up, opening the door and patting Cody on the back as he leaves. Cody walks out, walking to where Obi is waiting. His date pulls out his earphone and smiles at him. He looks so eager and happy that it instantly makes Cody’s day.

“What did he say?” He asks, pulling his jumper back into shape. His cap is at an angle, the pins glinting in the sunlight.  
“We can go in. We just need to scan our passes again.” He simply grabs his shining gold pass out of his pocket and scans it. The machine buzzes and the gate swings open, Fox waving as he walks through. He smiles at his cousin, waving gently back at him. Obi pulls his own pass out and holds it next to Cody’s. They match, soft yellowy gold with a photo of them and basic information surrounding it. Cody’s has his birthdate, blood type, subject and contact number. He looks at Obi’s. The old photo of Obi has very short hair, compared to his now medium auburn locks. His birthday is only a few months ahead of his. Cody grins at the matching passes, observing the shining colours with matching red Republic logo in the corner. Cody’s has a little sunburst pattern of white in the bottom, a pattern of lines up at the top. Obi’s has red swirls, dropping into a spiralling pattern that surrounds his photo. Miniature stars and planets dot the rest of the card.   
“We’re matching!” Obi says excitedly, holding the pass then rewrapping the slim red cord that has miniature white Republic logos around his neck like an overlarge necklace. Cody shoves his back into his phone, pushing his phone into his pocket. Obi looks like a little kid at Christmas, skipping along the pathway. As they get near to Coruscant, Obi reaches out nervously. His fingers push against Cody’s and Cody gently pushes back. They interlink hands and walk towards the dorms, swinging their joined hands back and forth in time with their steps.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody and Obi take a stroll

They walk to the entrance of Coruscant dorms together, hands gripped together tightly. Cody can feel Obi’s pulse as they walk, avoiding groups of kids sitting around. Anakin and Padme are still lying on a picnic blanket that sits on the grass, her floral dress ruffling in the soft wind. Bly and Aayla are practising soccer, doing throw ins to each other, and intercepting the ball on their heads or knees. Bly even manages to intercept it on his chest, directing it onto the ground and flipping it back up before throwing it again. Aayla laughs as he spins around, tapping it off of his butt. They look so happy and in love, Aayla’s soft blue haze of hair flooding around her face, Bly’s short cropped brown hair the exact opposite. They wear each other’s soccer jackets. Bly snorts at the way Aayla attempts to trap the ball and accidently boots it into her face. 

“Is that your cousin?” Obi asks, using his free hand to point at the pair. His infectious enthusiasm at seeing someone who he has heard about is contagious. Cody nearly laughs at the skip in Obi’s step, and the way he smiles brightly when Cody nods. “Let me guess.” He pauses, staring at the pair with his large blue eyes. “The one with the blue hair is Aayla Secura. Ahsoka gossips about her. Especially when they have to run laps at training. Captain of the Republic Defenders. Right?” Cody nods again, causing Obi’s smile to grow even larger. Cody wouldn’t think that it was possible for it to grow even more, but Obi proves him wrong. “And that must mean the guy is Bly? I think. Bly Fett. Is it?” He frowns slightly, blinking before turning to Cody. “Cody?”   
“Of course, you’re right Obi.” He answers, grinning at Obi and his joyous expression. Bly spots him, waving at his cousin, before flipping his fingers up in a rude gesture. Cody fakes an expression of shock, slapping his hand onto his chest in disbelief. Bly shrugs at him, getting a cuff on the back of the head from Aayla, who smiles and waves at Cody, scolding her boyfriend in an undertone. Obi waves back, smiling at Aayla. She appears to recognise him, stopping her scolding of Bly and jogging over. She stops before them, smiling at Obi and Cody  
“Hi Cody. Is this the date that the Group Chat was ranting about?” She says. Cody nods and her face lights up with joy. “I didn’t know you were gay.” Cody slightly freezes, worried about the outcomes. Aayla gives him a soft grin and flips her hair backwards. “Relax Cody. I’m fine with people being gay. It’s cool. Ponds is gay, so is Mace. Kit is bi and honestly, I couldn’t care less. Like half of my soccer team is gay. Mace and I have bitching sessions about our soccer teams and how they get crushes on the other side. I’m not going to be mad at someone over sexuality. What kind of person do you think I am?” She sounds shocked that Cody would even be worried about her opinion. Bly, flopped on the grass, stands up and makes his way over to the group, slinging his arms around Cody’s neck and pulling him into a headlock. Cody, used to this from all of his family, steps backwards, puts one knee behind Bly’s, bends Bly’s finger back and flips him over his shoulder and into the grass. He lands with a thud, all the air whooshing out of his chest. Cody follows him down, crouching to the side and plucking a few blades of grass off his chest. Aayla, standing next to Obi gasps slightly, breaking into laughter mere seconds later at the shocked expression of her boyfriend.  
“Really Bly? I’m disappointed that you even had the beginning of a thought that told you that you would get away with doing that. Wow. That really didn’t make sense. Anyway, did you really think you could do that and not get flipped into the ground?” Cody says, ignoring the way his cousin attempts to grab him, dodging deftly to the side. “I grew up with Rex and Boba. Come on.” He stands, offering his hand out to his cousin. Bly grasps it and lets Cody haul him to his feet.  
“I thought you might go easy on me. Don’t want to beat me up in front of your boyfriend on the first date, do you?” His cousin groans, bones creaking as he stands up. Oh shit. Cody had forgotten that Obi was standing there watching. He quickly turns to look at Obi, who is standing there with a massive grin, chatting to Aayla as they seem to be talking about their Fett boyfriends. He seems to sense his mention and he looks at them, catching the last part of the sentence.  
“Oh, don’t bring me into this. I support beating up family. I fully support it. If Anakin attempted to do that to me, he’d be flying over my shoulder and pinned to the ground.” He says diplomatically, moving next to Cody and brushing a few strands of grass off his green jumper with a careful hand. He flicks some grass off Cody’s curly hair, twisting a curl around one finger, causing it to poof up in size even more than it was. Aayla moves to her own boyfriend, swatting the grass off his short and straight brown hair. Bly lets her do it, bending down, being nearly 13 centimetres taller than her. He pushes her hair backwards and kisses her softly, ignoring the pair watching them.   
Cody awkwardly turns away, refusing to watch his cousin kissing someone. Obi moves with him, deciding to take his hand and walk over to Padme and Anakin, smiling at the couple as they talk while lying on the soft grass. Anakin doesn’t even appear to notice, but Padme does. She waves at them, gesturing for them to come over. Obi holds Cody’s hand, almost dragging him over to the couple. He turns slightly, questioning if it is OK for them to go and talk. Cody smiles and Obi’s face lights up in happiness. They approach the pair, Anakin partially lying on Padme’s lap. The gold dress she wears has little flowers on it, pink, purple and red. The soft fabric billows in the wind, the gold and flowers patterned on it matching the strands of gold ribbon woven through her hair and the little flowers pinned into the elegant curls floating around her face. Anakin wears his soccer jacket and black pants, a black glove covering his prosthetic, hiding the damage from soccer training. Rain and mud plus grass manages to clog up anything relatively fast. Cody had to fully scrub out his soccer boots once, the mess clogging up the bottom of the studs to the point where there was almost a block of mud and grass stuck in there. It took him 20 minutes and a lot of swearing to clear them. Obi sits down next to the couple, grabbing a little strawberry from their picnic basket.  
“Hi. How’s the date?” He asks casually. Anakin sits up, kissing Padme’s cheek before turning to his almost brother.  
“It was a lot more peaceful before you crashed it.” Anakin groans, faking grumpiness. Padme cuffs him gently on the back of the head, ignoring his look of shock and looking at the couple.  
“Hello. You must be Cody?” She asks sweetly. Cody nods and accepts the strawberry passed to him by Obi Wan. “I remember you. You were at the Forensics Course last night. It feels like ages ago.” She pushes her locks out of her face and smiles gently.  
“Divo was a prick.” He states calmly. Padme snorts at the comment, giggling quietly as Anakin smiles.   
“Too true. Not as much of a prick as Faro Argyus though. He’s a true bastard.” Anakin stiffens slightly at her words, leaning over her protectively.  
“Argyus? That absolute bastard?” He says a ripple of anger in his tone. “Was he being annoyingly misogynistic again? If he was, did you yell at him? Because I fully support that venture.” He quips, anger turning to slight humour. He fully rolls off Padme’s lap, leaning up on one elbow. “I would have paid lots of money to see you rip into Argyus again. Did you punch him? Please tell me you punched him. Please.” Anakin almost begs. Padme laughs at his pleading tone, running her fingers through his curls in an attempt to calm him down. He sighs, leaning into the touch.  
“No Ani. I didn’t punch him. Punching him would be too kind. You have to make them suffer. Plus, I believe in diplomacy and negotiating. Aggressive negotiations are not my speciality. It really isn’t.” She neatly grabs a cracker, placing a bit of cheese onto it and biting down. “Cody. Can you please be as so kind as to tell my boyfriend what happened? I think he needs another opinion.” Cody nods to her, Obi relaxing and leaning on him.  
“She did do some impressive lecturing. Was scared for a minute there. If it was directed at me, I would’ve died from fear.” He says calmly, letting the traces of humour seep into his dead pan tone. Obi sniggers next to him, Padme rolling her eyes slightly.  
“That’s my girl.” Anakin declares fondly, ignoring the way Padme rolls her eyes again. The way she does it is soft, and she turns around, looking questioningly at Obi Wan.  
“How was your date? You haven’t said anything about it yet.” She asks, interested in the way the boys are leaning on each other, Obi smiling fondly.  
“I would say it went well. Cody? Would you say the same?” Obi turns to Cody, asking for his opinion.   
“It’s the first time I’ve been on a date in a few years. And you’re the best date so yeah. I would say it really went well.” Obi beams up at him, happiness causing his face to glow. Padme smiles at them.  
“That’s so sweet. First date in a few years? I would think that someone like you would have had a few boyfriends. Why not?” Padme says softly. Cody leans into Obi and relaxes.  
“Well my family is a bit picky when it comes to romance. So, anyone I date has to go through the vetting process of eight brothers, a military father, ten older cousins, five younger cousins, four uncles and an aunt. Not many people are up to that amount of scrutiny. It’s difficult. They get very invested in what is good for me. And very overprotective. I suppose you could also call it as very nosy. Both work. So yeah. My family is a bit intense.” Cody says quietly. Padme nods and Anakin laughs quietly  
“Knowing Fives, intense is an understatement. A massive one. I have no idea how that kid manages to stay alive, he has absolutely no self-preservation instinct.” He points out.  
“I often wonder that myself. As a kid, he was even worse. He bounced on the trampoline, flew off and somehow managed to land in the pool. Broke his arm. Echo constantly bullies him for that.” Cody tells them group, causing Anakin to snort with laughter, falling onto the grass.  
“He broke his arm jumping into a pool. Oh, I am so going to bully him for that as well. Is that the stupidest thing that he’s done? Because I bet you know one stupider.” Anakin says, flipping Padme’s hair out of his face.  
“Yeah I probably do. If you need to bully Fives, I suggest you go to Echo. Twins usually have the stupidest information about each other. I have lots of blackmail on Rex.” He suggests. Anakin nods slowly, seeing the truth behind his statement. Obi coughs from beside him, drawing everyone’s attention.  
“Just a suggestion, can we maybe continue this conversation at a later point? Because the other Fett kids have arrived.” Obi points towards a person exiting the Coruscant dorms. Cody looks at them and automatically sighs. Rex. That means that Wolffe won’t be too far behind. Shit.  
“Oh god. Here we go again. I swear every time. Every damn time I am having fun, those idiots show up. Every damn time.” He groans, flopping forward. Obi pats his hand in sympathy, knowing the problem of family. “I have to deal with those idiots. Nice to chat to you guys.” He stands up and goes to walkover only for Obi to grasp his hand. He stands up next to Cody and walks with him, holding his hand.  
“Hey. Thanks for the date.” He says softly. Cody smiles at him, touching the little love heart tattoo. “Would you maybe want to go on another? I might not be up to your family’s standards, but I would love to see you again.” Obi blurts out. Cody blinks, then nods.  
“I would love to. I really would.” He answers. Obi grins at him, drawing a heart on the back of Cody’s hand.  
On an impulse, Cody leans forward and embraces Obi, breaking off the hug and kissing him softly on the cheek. He curses the action instantly but realises that it was Ok when he sees Obi Wan’s expression. The happiness is clear, the pure joy. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly and smiles at him.  
“Text to decide when the next date is?” He asks. Obi nods. “Bye.”  
“Bye.” He answers. They both turn, Obi leaping onto the picnic blanket with Anakin and Padme, laughing and watching the way that they immediately jump into a conversation, Anakin tickling his almost brother. The sibling love is clear. Cody meanwhile turns to see his family walking towards him menacingly. Wolffe, shit eating grin already in place, has his arms crossed and is a while away, just exiting the building. Rex, similarly, grinning, has his hands on his hips. Cody looks between them, already predicting what is to happen. Rex reaches him first, raising his eyebrows sky high.  
“Well. Hello oh dearest twin of mine. I would suggest that you run now because Wolffe is very annoyed that you ejected him from the Group Chat. Again. He deserved it, but he will chase you down and pin you to the ground until you add him back into the chat. So, you better run.” He warns. Ah. Cody recognises the point, watching the fast strides that Wolffe is using. He knows those. Reserved for those moments when you are pissed off at family members. Oh joy. He runs his fingers through his curls and straightens up.   
“Well fuck.” He says calmly, stress forming on his face. Rex sighs, pulling out his phone.   
“If I film this, do you think Wolffe will hunt me down and kill me later as payback?” He asks, curiosity overriding all sense. Cody shrugs and goes to walk away.  
“Cody! Put me back into that damn chat so I can cyber bully everyone!” The yell comes from behind him and he starts speed walking. A slight ping from his phone alerts him and he checks the messages.  
Obi Wan  
Obi: Your cousin looks kind of pissed off.   
Obi: Wolffe right?  
Obi: Looks scary and has a scar?  
Obi: He’s yelling about how you kicked him out of a Group Chat and he wants revenge   
Obi: You should probably run  
Obi: Text me date ideas if you survive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost forgot to post this because I just got off an 8 hour shift and fully collapsed then realised that it's Monday.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On days like these, Cody really regrets being a Fett

Cody makes it halfway to the library before Wolffe catches up with him. His cousin tackles him, knocking him to the ground. He is heavy, and Cody is suddenly reminded of the fact that Sinker needed emergency stitches from the last time they fought. Wolffe grabs his arms and flips him over so he’s facing upwards and looking at Wolffe.  
“Cody! You traitor to the name of Fett! You kicked me out of the Group Chat for speaking the truth! Let me back in! Let me in!” He screeches, ignoring the weird looks that they’re receiving. Most of the people look at Wolffe, then his scar that cuts through his eye and slices through his eyebrow and part of the way down his cheek. It gives him a terrifying look, scaring people away. The scar is still there, slightly up raised, and faded to a pale white. People are automatically scared away by the look that he gives when people ask about how he received the injury. But currently he isn’t bothering to check for weird looks, just focusing on scaring his cousin into doing what he wants him to.  
“Get off me you heavy annoying pain in the ass!” Cody groans, kicking his legs from side to side. Wolffe just ignores him, grabbing Cody’s phone out of his pocket. “Give that back! I’m not adding back into the Group Chat you asshole.” He huffs, exhaling slowly.  
“Put me back in the Group Chat and I will let you go back to your boyfriend. That is my bargain.” He says. “Come on Cody. Please.” He rolls off of Cody and drops his phone back onto his chest.  
“Fine.” Cody snatches his phone and opens up the chat. Almost immediately, a million messages pop up. He simply sighs, adding Wooooolffe back in.

Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Echo echo echo: I swear that Melia is an actual demon.  
Echo echo echo: She’s been chasing me for nearly an hour.  
Echo echo echo: It’s scary  
Echo echo echo: FIVES! Come get your girl!  
High Fives: No. She can kill you and it wouldn’t be my fault  
Waxering: So, he just ran screaming past my dorm and then Melia just calmly walks past, flipping a knife  
Echo echo echo: She has a knife now?  
Waxering: I’m kidding. Damn  
High Fives: Would not be surprised  
Boiling with anger: That girl is an actual demon  
Comety: Only if you piss her off  
Comety: She’s actually pretty nice to the Junior soccer team  
Boosted: Scary  
High Fives: I’m briefly going to add her to the chat  
High Fives has added Melia H  
Melia H: Hello people. Thank you to Fives for adding me. This is a warning for Echo. You better run. Just a little hint here  
Melia H has left the chat  
Jesse Messy: Fuck she is scary  
Jesse Messy: Fives your girl is crazy  
High Fives: Oi  
High Fives: Don’t call my girl crazy you little shit  
Jesse messy: She kind of is  
Jesse messy: Back me up here guys  
Comety: I don’t know what you are on, but she’s actually hell nice  
Comety: I play in the same position as her, so she trains me  
Jesse Messy: Another soccer family player?  
Boiling with anger: What the fuck is in the Fett genes that makes everyone soccer mad  
Waxering: Don’t even ask  
Echo echo echo: It is a strategy game, so I guess it fits the whole military thingy  
Smexy Rexy: That was strangely analytical  
Comety: There is a much simpler explanation  
Boosted: Do tell you little bastard  
Comety: Round orb goes floaty and kicky  
Waxering: What the fuck child  
Comety: Eh Echo got it kind of right guys  
Comety: And it is a fun way to introduce strategy and practise teamwork in a high-pressure situation  
Smexy Rexy: Heads up, Cody is being chased by Wolffe.  
Smexy Rexy: So, if you see him, let him pass because Wolffe is pissed

Oh, thanks Rex. Don’t suppose you could have said that before my cousin chased me? He thinks bitterly, placing his phone to the side. He grimaces, kneeing Wolffe. His cousin smiles, jumping to the side and sitting on the ground messily. Cody sits up, ignoring the slight ache in his upper body and dusts dirt off the sleeves of Rex’s formerly gorgeous jumper. Dirt streaks up the sleeves and back. He rolls up the sleeves and checks the tan skin underneath, sighing at the slight grazes and forming bruises. He looks at them then shrugs. To a Fett, what is another bruise. His phone chimes quietly and he enters the chat.

Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Codes has added Wooooolffe  
Stinky Sinky: What the fuck you do that for  
Wooooolffe: I hate you Sinker  
Boosted: I swear that the only reason you like this chat is to bitch at everyone  
Comety: That may actually be true tho  
High Fives: Why did you add him back Cody  
Wooooolffe: Wouldn’t you like to know you little shit  
Codes: Shut the fuck up Wolffe or I will mute you  
Codes: And to answer your question, he pinned me down and forced me too  
Wooooolffe: And I’m still in this chat anyways  
Wooooolffe: You know that if you kick me out, I’ll just steal Sinker or Boost’s accounts  
Smexy Rexy: Why not Comet’s account?  
Comety: Because he used to, and I change my passwords every month to piss him off.  
Comety: My other idiot siblings never change their passwords  
Boosted: Do you think I care that Wolffe is on my phone?  
Jesse Messy: I would be really pissed off if Rex or Cody stole my phone and accounts  
Echo echo echo: And you are somehow OK with Kix stealing it?  
Jesse Messy: Because Kix would pull the scalpel on me and just death glare until I gave in  
Comety: For someone a few months younger than me, fuck he is scary  
Kixystix: I shall keep that in mind cousin.  
Kixystix: Jesse Fett  
Kixystix: Are you seriously going to get ice-cream when you said you would be studying?  
Comety: I swear you are a mind reader because you manage to know where he is with scary accuracy  
Waxering: Sibling thing, I guess.  
Waxering: Right now, Boil is in the Dorm Common Room and Helix is in the library  
Boiling with Anger: I’d like to say that I am always in the Common Rooms and Helix leaves the library like once a month for food  
Heelix: I smell bullshit.  
Waxering: I am not guilty  
Comety: Is that what you do then Kix?  
Kixystix: No  
Kixystix: He left his location up on Snapchat  
Jesse Messy: Oh  
Jesse Messy: Oops  
Comety: OOPS?  
Comety: Your brother is coming to smack you and the only emotion you can muster is OOPS?  
Jesse Messy: Yeah. Also, how far do you think I can run in the 7 odd minutes it will take for Kix to find me?  
High Fives: Don’t bother. It’s never far enough  
Kixystix: Don’t you dare  
Jesse Messy: Too late bitch  
Kixystix: I’m going to kill you  
Kixystix: Just let me find my scalpel  
Comety: Just to let you know Kix, he just said some very rude things about where you can stick the scalpel  
Smexy Rexy: I would like to steer this burning dumpster fire of a chat into a topic you are all ignoring.  
Waxering: What do you mean here  
Smexy Rexy: Are all of you blind to the fact that Cody just got off his date?  
Boiling with Anger: So, Cody  
Boiling with Anger: Who’s the lucky guy?  
Codes: A) I hate every single one of you and you are all disowned  
Heelix: What have I done?  
Codes: Revision  
Codes: A) I hate every single one of you and you are all disowned, minus Helix  
Ponds: Come on Cody  
Codes: Fuck  
Codes: A) I hate every single one of you and you are all disowned, minus Helix and Ponds  
High Fives: Me?  
Codes: I am no longer adding anyone else to the not disowned list  
Blyndly in love: Is there a point to why my fucking phone keeps pinging?  
Wooooolffe: Cyberbullying Cody

He leans backwards and looks for Wolffe. He’s gone. No surprise. Cody sighs, dusting off his arms and walking to the nearby bench and leaning against it. The air is cooler, people still littered around the park area. He flops back into the bench, relaxing on the soft wood.

Blyndly in love: Ah. Carry on then  
Codes: I stand by my earlier statement that I hate all of you  
Smexy Rexy: Is there a B or are you just doing bullshit talk  
Codes: I’m getting there  
Codes: B) My date is my own business and I don’t want any of you guys doing what you did to Aayla or Mace or Melia  
High Fives: They were all scared of Melia so don’t see why you wouldn’t want that. They recognised her from the soccer game where a Night sister got tackled by her and nearly broke the leg  
Blyndly in love: Aayla beat Wolffe in an arm wrestle so they respect her now  
Ponds: I would like to point out that Mace knew everyone before I dated him  
Codes: You guys are not cyberbullying my boyfriend  
Stinky Sinky: BOYFRIEND?  
Codes: Fuck  
Smexy Rexy: When exactly did he become your boyfriend?  
Codes: When he asked me on another date  
Heelix: Nice to know the emergency stitches I had to give Sinker actually had a purpose  
Heelix: Instead of just a sibling squabble like usual  
Stinky Sinky: Yeah, I’m sorry about that  
Smexy Rexy: Can we get back to the point here people  
Boosted: There’s a point to this chat?  
Smexy Rexy: Yes. Cyberbullying Cody. Jeez people  
Boiling with Anger: Good point I guess  
Echo echo echo: You guys are so clueless  
Echo echo echo: At least 4 people in this chat know the identity of Cody’s boyfriend  
High Fives: Who?  
Echo echo echo: You do, you absolute idiot  
High Fives: Oh  
High Fives: Oops  
Wooooolffe: Are you going to spill it to the rest of us now?  
Codes: Where the hell did you go?  
Wooooolffe: Dorms. Wanted to watch this imploding chat from a far distance  
Smexy Rexy: Who are the four Echo?  
Echo echo echo: Cody  
Smexy Rexy: No shit  
Echo echo echo: Fives and I  
Smexy Rexy: That’s 3  
Echo echo echo: I guess only 3 know then  
Codes: And no one else will find out or I will commit a murder  
Wooooolffe: Wait a minute. Get Fox to go through the student passes he scanned and see who Cody was with  
Blyndly in love: That’s actually pretty smart  
Wooooolffe: Why are you surprised?  
Blyndly in love: I don’t know. Just you don’t really act smart  
Wooooolffe: You want me to look or sound like Echo or Ponds all the time?  
Ponds: Offended. Blocked  
Wooooolffe: Unblock me I have to tell you something  
Ponds: Unblocked  
Wooooolffe: Bitch  
Ponds: Blocked again  
Smexy Rexy: Good idea Wolffe  
Smexy Rexy: We just need to get Fox on this chat  
Blyndly in love: How do we do that  
Smexy Rexy: Fox. Get on here or I will spam text you  
Foxy Furry: What the fuck do you want now?  
Wooooolffe: We need you to look at who entered the building with Cody so we can bully Cody about his boyfriend  
Foxy Furry: No  
Boosted: Why not  
Foxy Furry: Violation of student privacy. Big nope. Not risking my job for you assholes  
Codes: Thanks Fox  
Foxy Furry: I’m not done  
Foxy Furry: I can describe what I think he looked like  
Waxering: Better than nothing  
Codes: Please don’t  
Foxy Furry: Kind of long reddish hair. Wearing a pale brown Republic hoodie. Just shorter than Cody. Really polite. Sounded like he was trying to debate with me while asking me to open the gate so maybe a politics student. Ponds? Politics is your class  
Ponds: Let me think for a second  
Ponds: OK. There is one person in the Politics class who manages to fit all of those things. Let me double check  
Blyndly in love: Would Cody tell us if Ponds actually gets this right?  
Codes: Fuck no  
Ponds: Pretty sure I know who it is  
Ponds: Is it Obi Wan Kenobi? Because he fits everything Fox said, and he is really diplomatic and polite.  
Echo echo echo: Yeah that’s him  
Codes: I’m going to kill you Echo. You know that right?  
Echo echo echo: I’m not a coward. Kill me then  
Codes: You know what, I’m sleep deprived and really fucking done with life. So, I’m just not going to bother right now. I also have an essay to finish again, so don’t please.

He closes the chat, moving off the bench. The library is near him and he needs to do research

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. I'm writing a little bit slow at the moment, so if anyone has any ideas or things they'd like to see in a future chapter, let me know.  
> If you also like ATLA, I have written a college AU Zukka fic that I will post soon


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes Cody just hates his brothers, but they just don't get that

Cody flops facedown onto his bed. The essay he had to do had murdered what remained of his brain, depriving him of sleep for a solid 3 days. He was just beginning to wonder if he should try the Rex method. Drink an absolute ton of coffee and fake a concussion to get out of doing work in the hopes that someone else would do his essay for him. Annoyingly, there are a few complications with that half-formed plan. Like the fact that his siblings would probably just let him be concussed. Or that none of his family studies History with him. They would have no idea what the hell to write, or how to properly structure an essay to meet the expectations of the graders. For instance, an essay written to meet a Physical Education essay requirement would completely fail to even meet one of the expectations for a History assessment. So that discounts Rex and possibly Fives. 

Against his tiredness and boredom, he pushed through the assessment and managed to finish it. Now that it was finally handed in, Cody can sleep freely and he yawns softly, relaxing into the warm covers. His limbs numb and he closes his eyes, hoping for a slight nap before Rex barges through the door and asks him what’s for dinner. The slight warm air from the heater in the corner ruffles his soft curls, sending the strands into complete disarray. He tucks up tightly, drifting off. 

A fist knocking against the dorm door snaps him out of the beginning of a nap and he rolls over, swearing softly as he blinks the sleep out of his eyes. Cody’s knee smacks into the hard floor and he swears angrily, standing up and hopping on one foot while rubbing his knee. His frantic motions cause him to slide across the floor, socks with no grips, and his already injured knee cracks into the pointy end of his desk. He tosses his head back, firing an impressive amount of insults at the desk.

“Stupid fucking desk. Ow ow ow. Fuck fuck shit crap balls fuckity fuck.” He hisses, hopping to the door while dodging the astounding amount of Rex’s stuff scattered across the floor and opening the door. It’s a Teaching Assistant, handing out the notices, page after page of bullshit about the sports offered and the games on at various points during the semester. He lets the smiling Assistant walk away, waiting for her to get to the next door before cursing, stepping back into the room and grabbing a small ice pack from the massive pile in the freezer. 

Cody places the icepack onto his knee and flops onto the couch, tossing over the first page of the booklet. Hockey game, Basketball game, trials for Volleyball, Swim squad teams. Ah. There it is. Cody flicks the page over and checks the Soccer notices. He likes reading them, they give him some stability and a memory of what he used to do. Try outs for a sub for Defenders, pair of missing goalie gloves, second-hand shin guards, scratched up pair of shin pads found, lost soccer boots. Eh. He skims over the small notices, going to the games. There is a Round Robin competition between the three main Universities. First round, Separatist Night sisters versus Independent University. Then Night sisters versus Republic Defenders. Then Defenders play off the Independent Nite Owls. Huh. He notes down the dates and times of the two Defenders games, making plans to go with the other Fett kids. Cody flips the page, seeing the schedule for Council games. Council playing Separatist and Independent teams. Fives plays in all of the Council games, Melia and Ahsoka competing for the Defenders. He rolls over and pushes the icepack into a firmer position. His phone sitting on the table pings and he snatches the phone up and checks the text. He’s not surprised, it’s the Fett chat. It is always the group chat.

Fett Clan Jnr Groupchat  
High Fives: Anyone going to watch the girl’s game in a few days?  
Boba Tea: Why would they? Girls soccer is boring and not as intense. Guys soccer is so much better.   
Comety: If you say that within range of any of the Defenders, you will end up stabbed by multiple knives. In all of the sensitive places. Multiple times.  
High Fives: Especially Melia. She would be more than willing to commit murder.   
Blyndly in love: Aayla would kick you so hard that she would leave bruises for a month.  
Comety: Melia and Aayla played against us in a scratch match and holy fuck  
Heelix: Didn’t one of them join your team?  
Comety: Melia played for us because we didn’t have enough.  
High Fives: They tried to make it more even for the Defenders by making her play in attack. Didn’t work at all  
Comety: Aayla had to fucking slide to block her and they collided so hard.  
High Fives: That time when Melia went to knee the ball and Aayla tried to kick it away and scratched her is a great example  
High Fives: attachment png-bruise-kill-me-now  
High Fives: She had fucking bruising around her knee for weeks and scratches from Aayla’s boots all over it  
Comety: Does she have scars?  
High Fives: Yeah  
Boba Tea: A girl got scars from soccer? I have played for 18 years and I never got scars  
Boba Tea: She got scars from a scratch match? It wasn’t even in a real match?  
Boba Tea: That’s fucking intense  
High Fives: Yeah. That’s girls’ soccer  
Comety: If you think that guys soccer is rough, you should see some of the bruises and scars that the Defenders have  
High Fives: You do not know true panic until you see a girl sprinting towards you looking like she wants to commit a murder  
Boba Tea: I see your point   
Codes: Now that Boba has been scolded, did any of you soccer obsessed kids lose a shin pad?  
High Fives: Description?

Cody rolls his eyes, grabbing for the booklet and opening it back up. He squints at the page, lying on his back and not moving for the sake of his stinging knee. The shin pads have a small description next to it.

Fett Clan Jnr Group Chat  
Codes: Blue and green stripes with long stud shaped scratches and a tear in the back panel  
Codes: They your soccer kit?  
High Fives: Nope   
High Fives: If they have a drawing of some waves, they’re Kit’s spare ones  
Smexy Rexy: Let me guess  
Smexy Rexy: He had to run from soccer training or a game to swimming training or a competition.  
High Fives: Not too far off  
Comety: What do you mean? He was spot on!  
Codes: It says that there was a wave drawing   
High Fives: I’ll text Kit and tell him to grab his stuff

Cody leans backwards, flipping the booklet over and rolling into the warm blankets. He sighs, pressing his forehead into the couch. The door swings open behind him and he strains upwards, peering over his shoulders to check who is entering. He flops down at the sight of Rex, who looks so tired and done with everything. Rex casts down his book and computer bag onto the messy table. In a single motion, he pulls the chair out and collapses into it, running his hands through his short blond hair and groaning loudly. Cody peeks at his brother, looking up at him and noting the exhaustion. 

“Tired?” He asks. Rex’s groan increases in volume and he lets his head smack forwards straight into the table and then snaps up, rubbing the red mark clear on his skin.  
“I swear to god that if Bric gives me one more piece of work, I am going to commit an actual murder then collapse because I am so fucking tired.” He rants, wildly gesturing. “I want too die. One assessment, a single hour of break time then I’m whipped back into another assessment. Bam, assessment, bam, a mother fucking exam! I will literally kill Bric. He has a thing for cruel and unusual punishments. Last time I forgot to hand in an essay, I had to repaint the soccer fields lines. 3 coats. In the hot weather. I swear to god that if I had to do that again, I would simply just die. Or the other time I was late, he made me run laps.” He pauses, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He made me run laps. For 20 minutes. In the pouring rain. In front of the soccer teams. And Fives was watching me run and laughing at me. So, if I kill my teacher, that’s on me. Dad would bail me out anyways.” He laments, grabbing his water glass and draining it, letting his head flop back onto the table and sighing, rubbing at his eyes and yawning. Cody nods, understanding the true pain of difficult teachers, especially when they want you to do their work, and only their work. Bric is one of the worst, another ex-military teacher, who unsurprisingly has it out for any Fett kids, especially Jango’s. He went through training with Jango, and hated him, a hate that has extended to his children. Maybe because they were pretty good at any sports assignment he set. Fives and Rex often have bitching sessions about how much they hate him and his teaching style.

The door behind them bursts open and Jesse rushes in, hurtling onto the couch, just missing Cody, who leaps up to avoid getting squished, and flopping over it like it’s his dorm. Kix follows him in and drops a container on the table. Cody looks up at him questioningly and Kix sighs.  
“Jango dropped off some of Tup’s baking. He said to share it with you guys and Fives and Echo.” He explains, opening the container and taking a few cookies before elegantly curling up on an armchair. One of Rex’s books, a new Rick Riordan, sits on the table and Kix snatches it up, putting a bookmark into where Rex had got up to and flipping back to the start. Within seconds, it is obvious that he won’t be leaving the chair for a while as he begins to read quickly, eating his cookies. 

Cody lets him relax, medical studies is a pain in the ass and it’s obvious that Kix needs a break. So, he moves to the table and grabs a cookie. They’re chocolate cookies, little chunks of fudge littered in the sweet mixture. Cody has to sit down; the cookies are amazing but he’s going to get one hell of a sugar rush after. An idea hits him, and he quickly grabs a few more cookies out and moves to the counter, rummaging under the sink for a container to put them in. He finds one and pulls a sticky note off the fridge, slaps it onto the container and scribbles down his idea, making a mental note to do it when he has free time. Which will probably be never, considering the size of his to do list. Right up the top of the multiple items is the next date with Obi. His boyfriend. Even thinking it gives Cody a warm flush, which floods up to his cheeks and lightly dusts his slightly freckly face. He leans back, hiding the smile as he presses his back against the counter. His guilty smile grows and Jesse, always a fast thinker, sees it.

“Ooh Cody! Someone is blushing! Thinking about your pretty boyfriend?” He teases, shoving at Rex, who simply glares up at him, halfway through the bite of a cookie. Cody fights down the blush, taking deep breaths and covering his mouth with his hand. Jesse laughs, pointing at the trademark blush rising onto his face below his eyes.   
“Shut up.” Cody mutters quietly, opening the cupboard and pulling out a glass. The freezer is stuck, and he struggles with the door, placing the glass down and yanking the handle as hard as he can. It shoots open, striking him in the shoulder as he leaps out of the way. The freezer is full, ice-cream and frozen meat and food, such as gyoza or homemade dumplings, that one of the Fett’s might like later, stacked precariously. He pushes the food aside, ignoring the icepacks that line the inside door, the one solution Cody has for any injury. Sprained ankle? Icepack. Broken finger? Icepack. Cody hisses at the cold metal and quickly shakes some ice into the glass before running it under the tap and sipping at it, attempting to quell the blush that reappears with a vengeance at Jesse’s laugh.  
“You are! You are so dreaming about your boyfriend!” Jesse sings, waving his hands around. Cody looks at his siblings, trying to gain support, but unsurprisingly, they all agree with Jesse. Cody opens his mouth, trying to protest, but Kix cuts him off.  
“Don’t you fucking try to deny it Cody. We know you to well. We’re your siblings you idiot.” He says serenely, not even looking up from the book, holding one hand in the air and then turning the page, curling deeper into the chair. “You think that we don’t know when you’re lying? Please. You were always a shitty liar.” He points out, snapping his hands through the air. Rex rolls his eyes, peeling his head off the table and spotting the notices lying on the table.  
“Hey Kix, can you toss me that booklet?” He asks absently, biting into another cookie. Cody has to bite back an inelegant snort as the booklet, hurled across the room by Kix, who isn’t too happy to be robbed of his precious reading time, smacks into the side of Rex’s head, knocking the cookie straight out of his hand and skidding off the table and onto the floor. Rex’s shocked expression and quiet sigh make Cody laugh and he spits out the sip of water that he had taken, leaning on the bench. “Fuck.” Rex mutters, ignoring the laughing brothers and leaning into his chair, reading through the booklet sadly.   
“You told me to toss it to you.” Kix states calmly, a perfect deadpan expression already in place. Jesse laughs then, tossing his head back and laughing hard. Rex sighs again, flipping over the booklet as he watches his siblings from the corner of his eye. Something on his page draws his attention and he reads over it, raising his eyebrows at the words.   
“Hey guys, they’re showing Galactic Conflict this Friday at the common room.” He says, surprised. The confused stares he gets, especially from Cody, have him rolling his eyes. “Are all of you uncultured? Really? Come on. I knew you were all an embarrassment to the Fett family, but this?” More confused stares meet him, and he groans. “Look, its in the common room on Friday, all years welcome and you are allowed to sit anywhere. Anyone want a plot summary?” He asks. Kix raises his hand and Rex nods. “OK. Basically, there is a galactic conflict and the laser ships go pew pew.” Cody shrugs and grabs his phone. It’s close to the dorms, and it’s a popular movie so hey, might be worth a shot.

Obi  
Cody: Hi, was wondering if you wanted to come see Galactic Conflict with me on Friday?

It takes a while, but he writes back

Obi

Obi: I would love to 😊


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody somehow manages to survive the week. Galactic Conflict is showing and he has a date

Within the space of two days Cody manages to catch up on nearly a week’s worth of missed sleep from the life problem that is his brothers. Then he immediately loses it again because brothers suck. It’s a miracle that he manages to have any sleep with how his family is. Cody has had one hell of a day. Worked out early, did an English lesson that was offered for free. He checks his watch and sighs deeply. 45 minutes until class is over. 30 minutes from then until the movie starts. He leans on the stack of books and tries to not fall asleep in History class. Tera Sinube lectures on and on and on and on. His notes are highlighted and yet written in his almost unreadable scrawl. He slumps over, balancing his chin on his palm softly.   
“As you all know, the third part of this semester’s curriculum is modern history and its impacts on the current political and socioeconomic climate with specific references to modern situations especially in respect to how our city is affected.” He explains, leaning slightly on the table. Cody scribbles down the important things in dot point form.

Modern History  
• Impact on current political + socioeconomic climate  
• Specific references to modern situation  
• Respect to city

Mr. Sinube keeps talking on and on and Cody nearly falls asleep, his writing getting messier and messier as he begins to get off topic. The list turns away from Modern History and onto what he has to do in the weekend ahead. 

First- Date with Obi Wan. He has to grab some cleaner clothes, preferably from Rex or Echo’s wardrobes. Or maybe his if Rex put on the washing like he was supposed to. He also has to get there early in order to grab two beanbags because everyone will want to see the new Galactic Conflict movie. If he wants a pair of beanbags, then he will have to race to the Common Room and nab them from the Room before others get there. Or he could simply blackmail one of his multiple relatives into reserving him some beanbags. His blackmail resources are slightly depleted due to everything really. But he can use the Fett Code. Not on Fox though. It would be slightly unfair to expect him to help him twice in a week. Fives and Melia would help. So, would almost everyone. With the slight exception of Wolffe because he’s a dick. 

Second- Deal with his siblings because they are absolute idiots. Jesse left his out of the box brownies in the oven before going to practice his boxing. The brownies were still edible, but too crispy for even Fives’s iron stomach to take. Rex had taken one bite of his brownie and raced to the bin, spitting the charred mess out. Kix had prodded his with a small knife and sighed, tossing it past Rex and into the bin neatly before standing and moving the sink to scrub the burnt mixture out of the brownie pan. Jesse hadn’t even been offended, trying an edge piece once and just accepting the fact that hey, it’s burnt to hell.

Third- Make some sweet food so he doesn’t have to deal with five sleep deprived boys. Or men who are basically boys at this point. They need some coffee or sugary foods in order to somehow stay awake for the day. Cody needs to pull down some recipe books and find a new idea that he could tell Tup. Ah Tup. That reminds Cody of his fourth job on an ever-growing list.

Fourth- Talk to Tup. Cody doesn’t want to admit it, but he is so worried about how his brother is dealing with everything. The teen bakes as a stress mechanism, but Cody has been receiving more and more baked goods from him recently. He hopes that Tup is OK, but it might be nice for Tup to view baking as more than just a way of reliving the worry he feels. That’s where Dex comes in. A sign up on the side of the Diner had announced that they were looking for a new baker to help with some of the baked goods served around the Diner. Tup could get that job easily, help out for an hour after the end of school every day and for two hours each morning of the weekend. It would give him something to do and a spare source of income for Tup to use. He just has to remember to call him and Jango.

Fifth- Sort out Hardcase and what he’s doing with his life. He can play soccer and plays it well, but he doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future. He could really do anything he wanted to do. Science and Technology Design are Hardcase’s real specialties, but he can study almost anything and pick it up quickly. Soccer is another skill of his, a skill of almost all Fett kids. He could go into computer design or coding. He’s smart enough, but he lacks motivation and due to ADHD, concentration. 

Sixth- What was his sixth point? Ah. Pay more attention in class. 

In the time it took for him to make the mental list, the board filled up with Tera Sinube’s writing. He sighs, leaning forward and pressing his forehead onto the book. Cody has a lot to catch up on and class is not even close to being over. 

The moment class is up, Cody bolts for his dorm. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and runs down the Humanities and Social Sciences block stairs typing out a text with his free hand, balancing his History folder on his other hand. He debates who to send the text to. Rex? Would help but would complain while doing it. Echo? Would save him beanbags but there is no guarantee that he’ll be back from the labs by then. Jesse? Jesse would roll the beanbags in glitter and somehow fill them with even more glitter. Then explode the glitter out of the beanbags when Cody and Obi sat down on them. Oh, that puts Jesse out of the picture. Kix? Maybe. Kix might do it, but he would definitely demand blackmail material in exchange for the favor. And Cody is nearly out. Actually, that needs to be added to his list. Perhaps Fives? Melia would make Fives save the beanbags. Ah. Melia. Perfect. Cody opens the text conversation with Melia. 

The only reason he has her number is because she has had to bail Fett kids out of jail once. Cody wasn’t the one in jail, Fives, Echo and Jesse were. Drunken disorderly conduct. Bit of a problem. Kix had been Jesse’s call, but had just straight up hung up on his brother. Echo had tried to call Jango at home, but he hadn’t answered. Fives had rung Melia, knowing that she would answer if only to laugh at him for getting chucked in jail. He had given her Cody’s number and asked her to try and call him. Melia had obliged and rung Cody up at 2 in the morning to come and get his brothers from a jail cell. The pair of them had showed up very sleep deprived with their ID and bailed them out. 

Melia  
Codes: Could you and Fives keep two beanbags for me?  
Melia: Galactic Conflict, right?  
Codes: Yes please  
Melia: Sure

The shitty key opens his door and Cody slides across the floor, racing to his bedroom and kicking the door closed behind him, dumping his pile of work onto the desk, almost immediately having to catch his computer as it slides off the tilting desk.  
“I should really get this desk fixed.” He mutters, pushing the desk back to upright and ignoring the random papers that flutter free. The desk slams against the wall and he winces, brushing the ever-present curls off his face. A small lit clock sitting on the now semi-stable desk alerts him that he has less than 15 minutes. A bolt of adrenaline races through his system and he turns, grabbing the wardrobe door open. He rifles through it, looking for a nice outfit. Cody’s usual hoodies are slightly unfashionable according to Rex, always the fashionista.   
Cody yanks out his favorite hoodie, breathing in the smell of their laundry powder. Soft and lemony. Thank god that Rex actually did the washing. The smell almost matches his warm golden hoodie. A white sun is sewn in the center, a simple half circle with thin white lines coming off the circle. It is his favorite jumper, given to him by Rex for his birthday. He tugs it on and adjusts his black jeans. The sneakers he usually wears are also black and white with small gold highlights and he slides out the door and quickly grabs up his phone and keys.   
Cody speedily pops into the bathroom and checks out his look in the mirror. It all looks coordinated and neat and he thanks the fact that all of his clothes are black or bright and somehow match. He snatches up the closest hairbrush, purple so he has no idea whether it belongs to him or Rex and brushes his curls out a little bit. They immediately go insanely puffy and he sighs, giving up on the mess. His phone beeps and he checks it. The movie is starting soon, and he bolts out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, pulling a cookie free from its packaging, stuffing it into his mouth while shutting the front door.

The corridor is loud and Cody recoils, shocked by the sudden assault of noise. Students from all years pack the hallway and he begins to push past them towards the Common Room. Many of the people don’t mind him pushing past and he soon drops into some clear space, scanning his student pass and walking into the Common Room. He peers around and looks for Fives, Melia, Echo or Hunt. Anywhere one is, the others won’t be far behind.

“Cody! Over here!” A yell cuts through his thoughts and Cody snaps around, trying to spot Fives. A hand shoots through the air and waves frantically and beckons him over. Fives is lying across two beanbags, Melia curled elegantly on the third, Hunt and Echo sitting on the floor fiddling with something that looks suspiciously like a trigger mechanism. Whatever it is, Cody doesn’t want to know. With his family it really is best to not ask. Melia spots him and grabs at Fives’s hand and pulls him off the beanbags. Fives rolls off and onto the floor, sprawling onto Hunt and Echo, who immediately reacts by smacking him on the back of the head with enough force that Cody winces. Melia quickly slaps a hand over her mouth to stop the laughter that pours out. Hunt snorts with laughter at Fives’s shocked expression as he rubs at the back of his head.

“Ow what the fuck Echo?” He cries out, grabbing at Echo’s hand as he goes to smack him again. 

“You bastard! Hunt and I have been working on that new glitter bomb trigger mechanism for a week! You sat your fat ass on it!” He growls at him, freeing his hands and jabbing Fives in the ribs. Hard. Fives’s answering yelp causes Melia to laugh even harder, falling off her beanbag and onto Fives’s stomach. Fives grunts as she lands on him and Hunt takes the opportunity to jump onto Melia’s old beanbag. Fives takes the opportunity to tickle Melia and she laughs even harder somehow, curling into him in a hug. Echo pushes futilely against the pair, shoving them off the mechanism that now lies in several pieces on the wooden floor. Melia finally stops laughing and turns to face Echo.

“I’m sorry Echo. Do you want some help to fix it? I am surprisingly not useless at fixing tech because my dad was an engineer and I have always been clumsy.” She points out, poking at Hunt until he moves over a bit so she can lean up against the beanbag, Fives tucking in next to her.

“So, you have told me before. It’s OK. I can fix it. Just give me a while.” He twists the metal pack into shape and wraps a piece of wire around the central mechanism. Hunt tosses the blueprints over to Echo, hitting him squarely on the back of his head. Melia snickers at Echo’s look of shock and goes to high five Hunt. His accuracy with paper doesn’t seem to stretch to hand coordination. He misses miserably and attempts again, Melia used to this by now. Cody sits down on the fluffy grey beanbag and pulls the matching dark grey beanbag closer, to avoid it being stolen. Now it’s just a matter of waiting. 

“Hello there.” Cody jumps up and smiles at Obi Wan, wearing a soft light blue zip up hoodie. Black print in the center shows that he is part of Les Gym. Les like El-Les? Huh. 

“Hi, Obi Wan.” He smiles up at his boyfriend, eyes crinkling up with happiness. An ooh comes from Fives and it’s abruptly cut off by an elbow to his chest from Melia. Hunt just sits there watching, eyebrows raised as Echo passes him back the plans. Cody looks down and points to the spare beanbag. “I saved you a beanbag!” He says proudly, gesturing to the dark beanbag. Obi nods, sitting down on it and beaming at him. The lights go off and soft music starts, the projected movie showing the stars above a strange planet, assorted gasps coming from around the people crowded in the room.

“How are you?” Obi asks awkwardly and quietly, dropping his phone onto the bag and curling up beside him. 

“Good. Sinube has been giving us a bunch of work but it’s all doable. But living with Fett’s makes it very hard to catch sleep” Cody yawns, turning to face Obi and accepting the hand that he holds out. “How about you?”

“I am going fine, Palpatine is moving through the topics fast and living with Anakin really gets the amount of sleep right down.” He sighs, rubbing at his eyes softly. The music in the background stops and Hunt leans over, smacking Cody on the back of the head softly. 

“Shut up lovebirds. Some of us are trying to watch the movie.” He mock growls at them. Cody blushes, trying not to notice the fact that Obi is doing the exact same. Hunt rolls over and tries to watch the movie, but Fives and Melia are laughing quietly and Hunt rolls back over the other way and just shuts his eyes. Echo pokes at Fives until he sits up and Melia moves as well, flopping onto Fives as he lies back down, competing with Hunt for the available beanbag space. He turns to ignore their antics and sees Obi, face softly flushed and curled up in his beanbag, hands still linked across the bags.

“Sorry Hunt.” He whispers, grinning madly at Obi. Obi smiles back at him and taps his fingers at his pulse point softly. “Hey, are Padme and Anakin coming? Because Ahsoka is here and about to land on Hunt.” Speak of the devil. Ahsoka, wearing jeans and a hoodie, comes leaping in behind him and flops down onto the beanbag behind Hunt, flipping him off the beanbag and onto the floor. The resulting swearwords that stream from Hunt make Cody choke on a giggle as Obi makes the funniest expression he has ever seen. An explosion on the screen makes him jump and whirl around, seeing as little ships begin to attack innocent citizens before a man with a glowing laser sword steps in. 

“Yeah. Padme just went to get changed.” Obi murmurs, rolling in his seat to face him. The beanbags are pressed together and Cody smiles at him, completely ignoring the movie. A throat being cleared from behind him nearly makes him jump off the bag. 

“Hi Obi. Can we use that beanbag?” Anakin asks, one arm slung around Padme, who wears a long light green coat. Obi nods, Anakin grabbing the end of the beanbag out from underneath him and rolling Obi Wan straight onto Cody. Cody lets out a choked breath as Obi lands on his chest. Padme laughs and drops onto the beanbag that Anakin pulls to the side for them to cuddle on. The movie continues on as Obi sits up, moving off Cody’s chest and onto the space that Cody clears for him. He tucks into the beanbag and also Cody’s chest, cuddling up with his boyfriend. Cody stiffens, not expecting the hug, before relaxing and wrapping an arm over Obi, holding his hand with the other. Sounds of explosions and fighting are almost silent in the background as Cody curls into Obi and they embrace, drifting off to sleep in each other’s arms.

It takes a few minutes and some very well-placed elbows to grab Melia’s attention. She moves out of Fives’s arms and quickly snaps a photo of the cuddling pair, nodding to Echo and Fives when they ask for a copy then shushing them in order to watch the movie, letting the pair sleep on.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The movie ends, but the date isn't over yet.

Cody feels tired and happy, floating on a cloud in his head, hugging someone who is hugging him back, head resting on his chest. Warmth engulfs him, his usual hoodie bunched up slightly, exposing his back to the cold breeze. A hand suddenly grips his shoulder and shakes him a little bit.

“Cody. Cody. Codes. Wake up. The movie is over.” The voice whispers in his ear. In his sleep addled state, he can tell that it is a Fett, specifically one of his brothers. The thoughts race through his head as he shudders, tucking the person tighter into his hug.  
“Fuck off.” He growls, swatting the cold hand away. A rapidly cut off laugh sounds from above them and the hand grabs him again, shaking his shoulder.  
“Cody… Either we leave you here for the night or you wake up. So, wake your ass up.” They sing in his ear and he snatches out, grasping for their wrist, opening his bleary eyes, and blinking tiredly at the person who dared to wake him. Unsurprisingly, it’s Fives, grinning like the fucking Cheshire Cat. 

“Fives Fett. Get your hand off me and let me sleep or I will fucking murder you and this time, Melia and Echo can’t convince me not to.” Cody growls, glaring at his younger and little bit of an ass of a brother. A muffled laugh, soft and sweet, vibrates against his upper ribs. Oh shit. Cody quickly peers down, noticing Obi Wan, the shorter boy pressing his head against Cody’s chest, using him as a pillow on their shared beanbag. His boyfriend? It kind of feels weird to put a classification on it. His boyfriend has his normally neat auburn hair sticking up in all directions, sleepy eyes meeting Cody’s, a big smile already forming on his face at the sight of him.  
“Hi.” Obi mutters sleepily, grinning sweetly.   
“Hi.” He replies, impulsively leaning forwards and pressing a sort kiss to Cody’s forehead. It’s a bit of a sappy gesture, but it makes a little thread of happiness wind around Cody’s heart. From Obi’s happy expression, its clear he feels the same, nestling closer under the blankets, and snuggling into his jumper. A throat clears above them and a small snort of laughter sounds 

“Obi I am not hauling your half-asleep ass back to the dorm for the third time this month. Please don’t make me haul you again.” Anakin begs in a grumpy voice. Obi groans, ignoring him and pressing his hands over his ears. “I swear Obi, I will leave you here for the night.” Anakin’s hand tugs at Obi’s shoulder and he rolls away from Cody slightly.  
“Anakin if you touch me one more time, I will flip you off a fucking bridge.” Obi growls under his breath. Anakin laughs again, prodding out at Obi’s side with his feet.   
“Oh, come on. I know you wouldn’t. You love me too much.” Anakin teases, prodding and poking at Obi’s side. Obi rolls over and grabs Anakin’s ankle with all his strength, pulling his closest friend down to the ground. Cody laughs at his shocked expression, the prosthetic he slammed out to stop himself from falling on his face leaving a scratch on the floor. Padme reaches down and tries to haul him off his back, but Anakin resists, staring up at the roof, shocked into silence for once. The laughter comes quickly to Cody, who covers his mouth with his hand.

“Oops. My mistake.” Obi says sassily, turning back to Cody, who is almost choking with laughter. His boyfriend ruffles at his curls with his free hand. Some glitter, heaven knows how it was still in there exactly two weeks later, flies free onto Obi’s shirt.   
“How the fuck?” He asks, shaking his head indignantly, glaring at each speck of glitter that sparkles in the air as it floats down onto his pants. The corner of Obi’s mouth twitches upwards as he bites down the start of a smile. Another shake reveals a cloud of glitter and he looks upwards just in time to catch Fives releasing more glitter. “Fives you fucking dickhead, I will commit murder. You break the Fett code multiple times in a month. You really don’t know when to stop do you?” He whips his head back and forth, sending glitter flying all over beanbag and onto Fives’s pants.  
“Fives! Can you not mess up Cody’s day for one second?” Melia sighs, leaning back on her beanbag, moving her phone away from her face and rolling her eyes at Fives’s pleading expression.

“But Melia…” He whines, pushing out his lower lip. She just tilts her head, mimicking his expression, then moves her phone back over her face and kicks her feet up. Obi snickers at the chaos from Cody’s family and friends, pressing his lips against Cody’s cheek.  
“Hey, hate to break up the moment but can we, you know, head up to the dorms now?” Anakin interrupts, rolling over on floor and fiddling with his prosthetic. Obi flips his middle finger up, sinking further and further into the beanbag. Anakin rolls his eyes and grabs at the edge of the beanbag with his flesh hand, pushing himself up into a crouch with his prosthetic, leaning backwards with all his strength. The beanbag underneath Cody and Obi shoots free, depositing the pair onto the floor. Or at least it would have if Cody hadn’t seen it coming, years and years of living in an army household with multiple siblings having trained him well, already in the process of kicking off, pushing himself up and wrapping his arms around Obi and rolling. He hits the floor on his back, Obi rolls with him and lands heavily on his chest, winding Cody. He coughs three times, making sure to keep his arms around Obi in order to stop him from sliding onto the floor. Cody shakes his head a few times, clearing the ringing that starts in his ears and the fuzziness that blurs out his eyes. Obi grasps his hands, stopping him from falling. He breathes deeply, before putting his hands on the ground and rolling off Cody and lying on the ground next to him, staring into his eyes softly. 

“Well look who saved me again.” He whispers, kissing Cody’s cheek, ignoring the blush rising in his cheeks. “My hero.” He pulls back, smiling widely at his boyfriend. Anakin pops into their limited field of view, grinning madly.   
“I honestly did not think for a second that doing that move would actually get you off the beanbag. Guess that it actually worked this time.” He laughs. Cody raises an eyebrow.  
“This time?” Padme asks, wrapping an arm around Anakin’s waist and leaning on him.  
“Really Padme? Do you really think so little of me?” Anakin says in a wounded voice, kissing the top of his girlfriends head softly.   
“No Anakin, I don’t think so little of you. You realise I am a debate champion? You didn’t think I would notice the way you used this time? I am just somehow shocked by the fact you tried to toss someone off a beanbag before and thought it would work now.” She states in a perfectly neutral tone, looking at Cody and Obi, raising her eyebrows in solidarity. Anakin considers her words, spinning the words in his head, looking for any possible way to interpret her words in a way she wouldn’t realise, and somehow structure a reply that doesn’t result in him getting a long and wordy lecture. Also, a reply that will give him some deniability. Especially with a future politician on his hands.

“Uh, I may or may not have attempted unsuccessfully to flip Ahsoka off her beanbag at movie night a few weeks ago. It was unsuccessful of course, but it did provide a great learning point, especially when she kicked me.” He gestures slightly at Ahsoka, who is lying next to Melia on a beanbag, propping herself up on one arm at the sound of her name.   
“What the fuck did I do now?” She asks, placing her phone down as she tries to figure out what is happening. Padme smiles at her, not a single hair out of place, a complete contrast to Ahsoka, who has tendrils flopping all over her face, from a small wrestle with Melia over who got the beanbag.   
“Well Ahsoka, Anakin just owned up to the fact he tried to flip you off a beanbag and you kicked him Don’t suppose that you had anything to do with the table collapsing in Obi’s dorm?” She says sarcastically, pointedly ignoring the way that Anakin attempts to kiss her head again. Ahsoka freezes, mouth hanging open before curling her mouth into an awkward smile.

“When you put it like that it is pretty bad…” Ahsoka defends. “And yes, I did kick him. But he made me drop my pizza so he absolutely deserved it and you can not tell me otherwise.” She finishes indignantly, mock crying into Melia, who shoves her off the beanbag. Obi gestures at the door as everything dissolves into arguing and chaos. Cody nods, pushing himself off the beanbag and sneaking to the door silently. Melia notices them, gaze flicking between them and the door before raising her brows, distracting her friends so they can sneak out. Cody nods his thanks, grabbing Obi’s hand and darting out the door.   
The corridor is cold compared to the warm Common Room. It’s almost empty, students fleeing back to their rooms after the end of the movie. His boyfriend shivers next to him, the cold wrapping around them. 

“Are you cold?” Cody asks, already preparing to take his jumper off. Obi’s hand shoots out and grasps his wrist softly.   
“No don’t. I’m not cold. I am truly OK.” He says, tugging his sleeves down a bit and adjusting his hoodie in order to stop the cold. Cody swings their hands back and forth, walking down the hallway, going outside.  
The outside area is even colder, chill surrounding them from every angle. Cody checks the watch, making sure Dex’s is still open.  
“Hey Obi, Dex’s is still open for an hour. Wanna go get some food?” Obi nods and smiles massively.  
“Yep. It’s Friday, so Hermione is on shift right now. She probably wants to go home so I can close up for her, and we can stay as long as we want.” He bounces up and down on the balls of his toes and they begin to walk, holding hands and laughing. 

Hermione seems almost too eager to hand over the keys and clock off, relinquishing control of the restaurant to Obi Wan. She grabs her jacket and bike, calling Flo and riding away. Cody drops his jumper into a booth, Obi flicks on the lights and the heater, unlocking the fridge and freezer.   
“Hey Cody, do you want to make your own sundae?” Obi asks, grabbing an ice cream scoop and flipping it in the air.   
“You would let me do that? Would Dex mind?” Cody says and jumps onto the table, leaning back on it while stretching out his legs.  
“Dex wouldn’t mind. Half of the stuff on this menu is made up from me being sleep deprived and coming down here and making random things until something actually tastes half good. So come on, grab an ice cream scoop and look at the stuff we have in the fridge and come up with the sundae you would want to eat.” Obi grabs Cody’s hand and pulls him off the table and into the back. He yanks open the freezer, pulling out a tub of vanilla ice cream and dropping it onto the bench. Two glass sundae bowls slide after it, Cody quickly grabbing one in order to stop it from flying off the bench and onto the hard floor.  
“Oh, shit that was too close.” Cody sighs, carefully placing it back on the bench, Obi nodding in agreement. 

“So vanilla ice cream is the traditional base, what kind of syrup would you like on it?” He asks, opening up the mini fridge under the bench. “We have Vanilla, Strawberry, Peppermint, Banana, Coffee, Caramel, Lemon, Raspberry, White and Dark Chocolate.” Obi lists professionally, ticking them off on his fingers. Cody’s eyes pop out of his head, flicking through the options in his brain.  
“That’s a lot of options. Maybe dark chocolate?” Obi nods back at him, pulling out the bottle labelled Dark Chocolate Syrup. “What about you?” Obi is already in the process of opening up a bottle of Caramel, shaking up the thick sauce.   
“Caramel obviously.” He twirls the bottle and places it down, trying his hardest to reach the shelf above him and grab the toppings.  
“Do you want me to get that?” Cody asks, standing upright and leaning forwards, removing the box, and shuffling the things on the bench around. “What’s in here?”

“Well we have lemon meringues, brownie chunks, caramel twirls, berry blocks and coffee meringues. Pick your favourite.” He says, pulling open the box and dropping the different takeaway containers onto the bench.   
“Maybe brownie chunks?” Cody opens the chunks and places it next to the chocolate sauce. Obi has already pulled the coffee meringues towards him.  
“OK, and for you final choice, what would you like that is warm? We have caramel fudge, berry compote, lemon jam, hot fudge brownie and coffee something.” Cody considers each option, deciding on hot fudge brownie sauce, which he picks up and plops in the microwave. Obi nods, flipping his ice cream scoop and lifting the lid off the ice cream, scooping a perfect ball of Vanilla, and placing it into the bowl. Another and another follow, three perfectly round spheres of ice cream sitting in his bowl. He does Cody’s as well. Cody swirls the bottle of chocolate syrup over the ice cream, doing crosshatches and circles. He drips the sauce around the edge of the bowl, placing the brownie chunks on top of the ice cream. The microwave beeps and the door shoots open and nearly smacks Cody straight in the face. Luckily, Obi Wan is there, intercepting the door on his hand and catching the falling container. 

“Be careful. I broke the door a while ago. At least I think it was me. It might have been Flo or Hermione. Probably Hermione. She tends to slam things very hard. She broke my finger once.” Obi says, holding up his pinkie finger and showing the small scar. He quickly taps at his heart on his wrist and pushes the door closed.   
“I wasn’t expecting that to happen. Boba broke the door in our house when he was twelve. Oh boy that was a time to remember. No microwave for a few months because Echo couldn’t be bothered to fix it and Jango believed that one of us should own up. Boba wouldn’t own up even though it was his fault so yeah, blaming the younger kids was his choice.” He stops and looks at Obi, who is smiling softly at him. “I’m rambling on. Sorry.”

“No no no. You’re not rambling. It’s cute. Really.” Obi replies, pouring some caramel fudge over the top of his sundae.   
“Thanks.” Cody says, blushing and tipping the hot brownie fudge over the top of the ice cream.   
“I mean it. Really.” Obi reaches out, grasping Cody’s hand softly and smiling at him with adoration. “Maybe we should go eat our sundaes before they melt?” He asks, lifting up his sundae in the other hand. Cody nods, releasing Obi’s hand and picking up his sundae bowl, stacking the ice cream back into the freezer and placing the other boxes back on the shelves. Obi reaches over and grabs two spoons, kicking the short door open and strolling out to their booth. He jumps into the booth, sliding on the soft fabric and onto the cushions. Cody’s jumper sits on the table and he shoves the jumper to the side, putting down the bowl and leaning on Obi’s shoulder. 

“What are you going to name yours?” Obi asks, flipping a button that turns off every light in the room. Cody nearly jumps at the sudden darkness. Lights bloom around him, little diamonds against the dark fabric of the room. Obi kisses his cheek, taking his hand and turning down the lights to just a soft and sweet glow.   
“You mean the sundae? Is Henry a good name?” Cody jokes, seeing the laugh that Obi attempts to hold back.  
“Well I was going to call mine Caramel Crush, but Henry is a good example.”   
“Caramel Crush huh? That’s a good name. Why is it that though? Any hidden meanings?” He asks, observing the vanilla and caramel decked ice cream.   
“Because it’s sweet and energetic. Like what a crush is like. It is so sweet and sugary, and it gives you energy and makes you happy. Like you do to me.” Obi states confidently, curling into Cody’s side, swirling Cody’s spoon through the caramel mix and holding it over to him. It’s so sweet and it makes a little fire start in Cody’s heart, making him smile as the caramel and coffee dances through his mouth. It makes his sundae look bad.  
“I want to call mine Chocolate Heart. Because it’s rich and cold but can melt from the heat of love.” Cody whispers holding out the spoon to Obi, who takes it and tries it. From his boyfriend’s expression, it’s a good sundae. Cody dives in, taking a large scoop of the syrupy and chocolatey mixture. A brownie chunk sits upon the ice cream on the spoon, balancing in the hot fudge brownie sauce. The sauce is cooled now, wrapping the soft vanilla in its grip. He has to tap his spoon against the shell a couple of times in order to break it open and scoop it out. 

On an impulse, chocolate still rich in his mouth, he leans forwards, kissing Obi as he turns to talk. They meet in the middle, chocolate, and caramel mixing in their mouths. Cody’s hand reaches around Obi’s back, pulling him forwards and into an embrace, onto Cody’s chest. The fairy lights pulse behind them, stars gleaming as Obi breaks off the kiss and cuddles into Cody’s chest, sundaes forgotten as they lie on the booth, staring up at the stars painted on the ceiling, darkness all around them, broken by the glowing lights tracing the stars all across the galaxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have reached the point where I let y'all know some stuff about where the plot goes from here  
> \- There will be a slight time skip (Only a month or two)  
> -There is a beach chapter coming up, where the gang go for a weekend to Scarif Bay as a holiday  
> -We will see more soccer games and the Nightsisters and Nite Owls play the Defenders  
> -And then we have some angst  
> -By some, I mean quite a bit  
> -Apologies in advance  
> -Kix and Helix get their own chapter, with Echo making guest appearances  
> -Tup and Hardcase also get a chapter about how they deal with their own struggles and ways they cope with everything  
> -And if anyone has any plot ideas, let me know as I will be happy to write more and more of this


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fett family has a tradition that they always go to Scarif Bay on the holidays. Turns out that it's a tradition for a lot of people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very heavily inspired by The Beach from ATLA. Enjoy the fluff because it gets serious pretty soon.

Cody is really tired of being crammed into the front seat of the car. The arguing and incoherent yelling from the middle seat is annoying him and he feels like smacking Fives, Jesse, and Echo, maybe even Kix. Currently his siblings are playing their 8th game of Uno, a small whiteboard held up with scores written on it. Kix is on 3 points, Echo on 4 and Fives on 1. Jesse, not unexpectedly, has no points whatsoever. Admittedly, Jesse is too busy yelling about how everything is bullshit and the others must be cheating. In reality, Echo is reading the cards off of the window behind Fives and Jesse, flicking plus fours from the mechanism up his sleeve. Kix is just bullshitting, like he always does, making everyone believe that he has multiple adding cards, but he somehow manages to win with merely normal cards. Maybe it is the fact that everyone is too scared of Kix to question what he’s doing. Cody isn’t even sure if Kix knows what game they’re playing anymore.  
Another round of swearing from the back seat makes him sigh, Rex taking a short break from driving to slam his head into the back of his seat. The music on the radio is drowned out by Jesse’s swearing, with interspersed cursing from Fives and Echo. He turns and looks back, noticing the way that Kix smiles smugly, having reversed the plus 12 given to him right back to Jesse. The triumphant expression on Kix’s face is a stark contrast to the anguish on Jesse’s, who is smacking his palm against his face repeatedly while Fives and Echo gesture angrily at Kix who flicks his sunglasses off his head and onto his nose, rolling his eyes as a goodbye before pulling out his phone and ignoring the game. Jesse sighs, looking resigned as he says goodbye to the only Uno he has had this whole game. He slowly picks up the twelve cards, groaning at every useless card he adds to his hand. The repetitive groans make Cody and Rex smack their heads backwards and swear quietly. Rex takes one hand off the wheel and turns up the music. Rex’s ABBA playlist shoots up to top volume and Dancing Queen shakes throughout the car. Cody just presses his forehead against the window and lets the music drill through his brain as he watches the fields pass by. Maybe he can pick up a nap before he has to deal with his siblings or worst of all, The Wolfpack.

The smell of salt permeates through his thoughts, snapping him to awareness. Or maybe it’s the fact that the car has stopped moving for the first time in three hours. Also, possibly the car that parked next to Rex and Cody has Wolffe, Sinker, Boost and Comet all yelling about how someone messed up the packing and everyone has towels except Wolffe. One of the three things.  
He jumps out of the car, bare feet hitting the warm concrete hard, the sun beating down on his face. Cody’s black and white striped shirt ripples in the slight breeze, curls swooping over his forehead. The salty wind blows and sand whips around his ankles, stinging slightly all the way up to his board shorts. It’s home. He stares upwards, looking into the blue sky, not a single skerrick of white or any clouds whatsoever. Rex moves around to him, smiling at his slightly older brother as he relaxes.  
“Hey Codes. Finally relaxing for the first time in months? Going to pass out on me again?” He mocks, smiling warmly at his brother. The back-door shoots open and Fives leaps out, already ringing up Melia because of the photo she posted minutes ago that involves the exact stretch if carpark that they’re in. Echo jumps out behind him, untying the card holding pocket from underneath his jumper sleeve. Jesse shoots his hand out and catches Echo’s wrist, tipping out the extra plus fours with a grumpy expression. Kix rolls the window down and sees Jesse and Echo squabbling over the card, rolling the window back up and ignoring the chaos. The other cars on either side open up and more Fett kids get out.  
Ponds’s car opens up, Fox and Bly getting out, squabbling over who stole who’s phone charger. Helix opens his door and jumps out, grabbing for Kix’s scalpel, trying to turn it onto Waxer and Boil, having been trapped in between his irritating brothers for hours, fully willing to stab one of them if they make one more joke. The other car, filled with the fighting mess that is the Wolfpack, finally opens and Comet leaps out from the driver’s door, slamming the door closed behind him, anguished screeches coming from Boost and Sinker attempting to escape from Wolffe, obviously annoyed at having to sit in the back with them for a whole car trip. Also, the fact that they forgot his towel.  
“OK. On the way back I am riding with you guys because if I have to spend one more second driving with them…” Comet gestures back at the car and the mess inside of it, pinching the bridge of his nose with the other hand. Helix reaches out, wrapping one arm around his younger cousin.  
“If you are riding with us then we kick Waxer, Boil and Bly into the other car.” He agrees, ignoring the shocked expressions of his brothers at the casual way he removes them from the car for the way home.  
“Deal.” Comet shakes his hand and strolls down the path. Rex leans gently on his brother, running his hands through his short blonde hair.  
“Damn. That car is going to be absolute chaos.” Cody says, Rex nodding in agreement before turning a disdainful expression onto Cody’s outfit.  
“Just like the chaos that is your clothes right now.” He mutters, shoving off his brother and straightening out his shirt. “For once Cody, will you please listen to someone who studies fashion for an opinion on your outfit? Is that too much to ask?” Cody grabs his hands.  
“I look fine. I think… But who will even see us here? Scarif Bay is one of the most remote areas in the city. Calm down.” Rex sighs at Cody’s statement, freeing his wrists and flicking them a few times.  
“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He huffs indignantly.  
“Warn me for what?”  
“You guys are here?” A yell comes from nearby, Anakin, in a Hawaiian patterned shirt that is fashionably undone and board shorts, leaping out from his car, charging at Fives, who pulls his teammate into a brotherly hug. The other doors open and Padme, wearing a dark blue bikini with a silvery cape like wrap over the top moves out, pulling on strappy sandals, jumps out. The final person to emerge from the car is Obi. Cody swears that his brain short circuits at this point, his boyfriend of three months is at the beach and looking as amazing as always. Fives frees himself from Anakin’s hug and peers around.  
“Wait, so if you guys are here, where is Melia and Ahsoka?” He asks, self-consciously shoving his messy hair out of his face.  
“Fives!” A shout startles Cody, Melia and Ahsoka coming out of the changerooms. Melia, light blue bikini that she was pulling at completely forgotten, drops her surfboard and races across the car park, tossing herself into Fives, who saw her coming and lifted her up.  
“Hey Melia.” He whispers into her hair, cuddling her softly. Ahsoka, dark blue and white striped one-piece standing out against her dark skin, hugs Padme, shoving Obi towards Cody.  
“I didn’t know you were coming to the beach.” Obi says, leaving the obvious question hanging in the air.  
“Its Republic Day. Of course we come to the beach. It’s a tradition. My dad and youngest brothers will be here soon.”  
“Even more brothers?” Obi asks, laughter tinting his tone.  
“Nah, it’s Hardcase and Tup. They’re pretty well behaved, unlike this lot.” He points back at the mess unfolding, all the feral Fett kids almost brawling in the parking lot behind him. “What are the up to now?” He asks, almost dreading the response. Obi leans around him, raising an eyebrow at whatever is happening next to the car.  
“Well Waxer and Boil, I think that might be their names, just jumped Jesse, who is grabbing Kix and Kix just grabbed Echo and now they are all rolling around and screeching. Ponds is jumping out of the way with Helix. Kix is the one that always has a scalpel on him, right?” Obi queries, tilting his head.  
“Kix always has at least one scalpel on him and he has stabbed almost every one of my relatives that are around our age. I think most of us have at least one scar. Jesse has more than one. Only two of those required stitches though.” Obi’s shocked look prompts Cody to add details. “Look, they were 8 the first time and it was in a fight over soccer. And the second time was because he ate all of the brownies, had way too much coffee and then managed to break Kix’s phone.” Obi relaxes, shrugging slightly and looking again.  
“Both of those things are reasonable to stab someone over. But damn. Everything I hear about your family just seems more and more crazy. Anakin and I were never this bad. Even when we were kids. We did some pretty insane things, but neither of us stabbed the other. The only serious thing was a broken rib.” Cody winces and Obi quickly grabs his hand. “His fault. Not mine. He convinced me to jump off his roof onto the trampoline. It catapulted me off and I hit the concrete. Miracle I didn’t get anything worse. Was grounded from soccer. That was a problem for me. Qui Gon didn’t take to kindly to an injury that took six weeks to heal. And the second it was healed I took a ball to the ribs in soccer and had to sit out for a couple of more weeks. Hurt like a bitch. I was pretty annoyed.” He rubs his ribs, as if a phantom shot of pain races through his body. Cody nods, understanding the pain of broken ribs.  
“Boba broke one of Cody’s fingers once. He was lying on the ground in the rain and Boba ran his hand over with one of those Razor Scooter things. It was absolute karma because he slipped on the ground and flew off and kind of screwed up his ankles by flipping the scooter into them. It was funny but sad at the same time.” Rex sarcastically says, walking past the pair with Echo slung over one shoulder.  
“You absolute bastard. Put me down now!” Echo growls, straining with all his might to free himself from Rex’s tanned and strong arms.  
“You were cheating at Uno. You know the penalty for that. Death.” Jesse announces, grinning at the thought, chasing after the struggling pair. Echo manages a sit up, glaring at Jesse.  
“Fuck off.” He snaps, the effort exhausting him and flopping back down, resigned to his fate. Rex parades down the stairs, jolting a shoulder into Echo’s stomach with every step. Jesse gets tired with walking behind them and jumps onto the railing, running down it and in front of the funeral procession.  
“Are they actually going to kill him?” Obi asks worriedly, clutching Cody’s hand.  
“Nah. We have a tradition that anyone who gets caught cheating at any game gets tossed into the nearest thing of water. Over the years we have had several lakes, 4 fountains, a pond and many many pools and even a kitchen sink.” Obi’s questioning look gets Cody laughing. “Don’t ask. Please. Sinker and Boost. Whenever there is something that sounds so stupid and you ask, how can he even say that with a straight face, it’s Sinker and Boost. Always.” A yell from behind them gets them both turning, and they see Anakin, grappling with Fives, Melia and Ahsoka standing on the side with the most judgemental looks.  
“Should we help?” Cody asks, watching his sibling try and fail to toss Anakin over.  
“Nope. Let’s go down to the beach already.” Obi pulls Cody over to the car, grabbing out a towel.

Sand. Sand everywhere. Everyone is really beginning to hate sand. Like Ponds, who is wearing thin boots and jumping from one patch of dry sand to another in an attempt to avoid getting sand in his shoes. The warm and salty waves crash over him, drowning out Cody’s thoughts. Obi holds his hands, sitting on a surfboard in black and blue striped board shorts. His surfboard is silver and black, with ribbing patterns, green and red dots lining the sides. The bright blue ankle cuff stands out against his pale skin. Another wave hits, Cody sucking in a breath and swimming away from the board, diving under the incoming wave and brushing the sand beneath him, salt soft against his tan skin. He kicks his legs, pointing his arms and slipping forwards, coming up for air only when the pressure in his lungs becomes too intense for him to withstand. His sopping wet curls stick to his forehead, thick mess dropping in his eyes. The light blinds him and he blinks multiple times, eventually focusing in on the beach, and the people on it. Padme is lying on a beach towel, tanning her olive skin in the sun. Ahsoka and Melia build a sandcastle next to the Wolfpack setting up a volleyball court, Echo jumping in and trying to make it more structurally safe. It isn’t working, another half of the net collapses onto the sand. Fox is getting buried by Bly, the brother forming a mermaid tail out of his legs. And Anakin? He’s just sitting there, staring at the sand now.

Sand. It’s dry and coarse and it gets everywhere. Anakin sits on the towel next to Padme, considering his options. He could go for a swim, but he would have to take of his prosthetic and wrap it on the beach. He could go for a walk and build a sandcastle, but both of those options end in Ahsoka hurling a ball of sand at his head. Or he could just sit on the beach and consider life, fiddle with mechanics, talk to Padme. It’s to hot to even try and make a decision. The only way he will get any colder is if he jumps into the water. Damn. Anakin pulls off his glove, undoing the cuff that keeps his prosthetic on and quickly unscrewing the pins that hold the ties that hold it in place. Kix, lying on a towel near them, lowers his medical book and examines Anakin.  
“That is quite an interesting mechanism.” Kix says flatly, scanning the arm and joining cuff. “Does it replicate nerves?”  
“Nope.” Anakin responds, untying the last tie and pulling off the fake hand. He casually turns to Kix, tossing it to the medical student, who quickly marks a page in his book and stares at the arm with unabashed curiosity. “It’s just an upgraded version of the one I made first.”  
“Interesting. Can I ask how you lost a hand?” He rolls the hand in his grip and peers at the wiring. “I don’t want to be rude. You don’t have to answer.”  
“No, it’s fine. I was in a car accident with my mum when I was 6. She was driving me away from my father. He used to hurt her, and she just decided to escape. It was raining and she took her eyes off the road because I was crying from fear. The truck hit us from nowhere.” Anakin whispers, quickly pulling a waterproof glove over his arm. “It hit my door and the door buckled around my arm. My mum was unconscious, and she was bleeding so much. I couldn’t get out and I couldn’t get her out. The driver called the ambulance and they took ages to arrive. By the time they got to us and got me out it was too late. My arm had to be cut out of the door and I’d lost so much blood and they could see the bone so they couldn’t do anything. We got to the hospital and found out my father had died trying to chase us down the road. They told my mum to choose. Try and put the arm back together, putting me through much more pain. Or they could just amputate it and find me a prosthetic. We chose to amputate it. And I just went along with it.” Anakin sighs, rubbing at his limb.  
“I’m so sorry. How did you get the prosthetic?” Kix asks, tapping at the fingers and bending them one by one.  
“When I was 10 Obi Wan gave me a build your own mechanics set for Christmas. By the time I hit high school I actually managed to make a semi accurate prosthetic and I always wore a black glove over it. So, I pushed myself to be better and made it more accurate and made it actually work. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get the nerves right ever. I have no clue about anything medical. At this point, this dinosaur of a prosthetic is better than nothing.” He gestures out and sighs. Kix nods, handing back the prosthetic.  
“Well. I hope that it all works out.” Anakin nods and opens a plastic sealable bag, plopping it down and tipping the prosthetic in. He seals it with his hand and reaches out, placing it under a towel. “Not waterproof?” Kix queries, nodding at the towel.  
“Unfortunately, not. I don’t need it though.” He stands and smiles at Padme, kissing her on the lips and turning and bolting into the waves, quickly tying his hair into a man bun right before crashing into the waves. Kix sighs, scanning the beach for Helix and Echo.  
“Helix! Echo! Get your asses over here!” He shouts. Helix jogs over and Echo grumbles about it, flopping onto the sand.  
“What is up?” Helix asks, dropping into a crouch and propping his chin on his hands.  
“Hypothetically, if I gave you a prosthetic and asked you to make a copy of it and somehow make it waterproof, could you do that?” Kix asks Echo.  
“Exactly how hypothetical is this?” His older brother asks, picking up the prosthetic bag and raising his eyebrows.  
“Not very.” Kix admits.  
“Then very likely, but it depends on any other changes you want me to make.” Echo states, turning the bag over in his hands.  
“Do either of you have any ideas about how we could make a prosthetic, so it connects to nerves in the body and makes it more realistic? Either of you have a spare stash of fake skin anywhere? Anyone have any idea how to make it so it connects without a join?” The expressions Kix gets are bemused and he groans. “Fine, we’ll do it from scratch then.”

Cody continues diving up and down, brushing the sand and kicking through the salty water. It strips away all of his worries, all of his problems, the water calling him home. Obi just sits on his surfboard, watching his boyfriend’s antics with amusement. Cody turns in the water as a shadow passes over him, twirling to avoid the fins of the surfboard. He kicks up, making sure to not crack his head on the surfboard above him, surging out of the water and splashing Obi Wan with a wave. His boyfriend shrieks, before looking up and smiling.  
“Oh, you are so on.” Obi laughs, lying down and kicking from the end of the board. A miniature wave engulfs Cody, who looks down at his already sopping wet body and grins.  
“Nice try, but I have been diving for ages. It’s going to take more than a little wave to scare me.” He mocks, dodging the next wave sent at him. A larger wave suddenly comes pouring in and Cody takes a deep breath, preparing to dive as Obi kicks his way up to it, ready to surf.  
“Coming through!” A shout comes from the top of the wave and a bright purple surfboard crashes between Cody and Obi, both of whom are to busy staring at the party crasher to notice the wave. It rolls Cody.  
All the air shoots out of his lungs and he spins in the air, mounting pressure in his lungs causing him to gasp for air, only to find sea water in return. A hand brushes his leg and tries to pull him up. Another hand grabs down, ignoring the whitewash around him and grasps Cody’s shoulder. He feels it, a tether. A burst of adrenaline shoots through him and he kicks upwards, narrowly avoiding a surfboard. The arm holding him belongs to the person on the surfboard, a cocky Fett with a massive grin.  
“Thanks, Hardcase.” He coughs, spitting out a mouthful of sea water. His evilly grinning sibling smacks him on the back, forcing another mouthful of water from his lungs. A head breaks through the water beside him and he recognises Obi’s flaming hair. His boyfriend grabs him and pulls him into a warm embrace.  
“Oh, thank god. I was so worried. You were under there for a while.” He whispers, frantically patting down Cody and quickly holding his face, turning it from side to side to check for any scratches or bruises.  
“I’m alright. I promise. It’s just that my littlest shit of a brother decided to crash our wave.” Cody looks accusingly at Hardcase, who raises his hands.  
“Wow, so cold. How rude after I pulled you from the water because you were stupid enough to get caught in the tumbler.” He says sarcastically, brushing his hair backwards.  
“That is a lot of sass for a 14 year old. You think you can back it up?” Cody lets go of the board, Obi quickly grabbing his own and climbing back onto it.  
“Well my dear brother. A) Fuck you. B) I did call the wave as mine. C) I am 15 in less than a month and D).” He pauses and frowns. “I forgot D). Oh wait. I think I have it. Dad wants to see both of you on the beach in a few minutes so you better head in now because he seemed pretty damn serious.”  
“Shit. What exactly did he say?” Cody asks, trying his best to sort out his curls.  
“I think it went something along the lines of….” Hardcase takes a deep breath. “Hardcase Fett, you get out there, get your brother and his boyfriend and tell them I want both of them on the beach within the next 7 minutes. Cody. His boyfriend. Not anyone else.” He bursts out, deepening his voice and putting on Jango’s thick accent that only comes out when he is annoyed or tired.  
“Did he actually use the accent or was it dramatic affect?” Cody groans, rubbing at his forehead and trying to unravel any hidden meaning.  
“Nope. Full accent usage. Good luck. I’ll attend your funeral. And bring cake!” Hardcase says cheerily, wheeling the surfboard around and paddling away. Probably to annoy Rex or Fives next.  
“Yeah, we better head in now.” Cody sighs, pushing away from Obi’s surfboard and diving under, propelling himself towards the beach.

Jango sits there, looking as scary as usual, book on his lap, another murder mystery that he insists he can solve. His beach chair is under an umbrella, board shorts and no shirt sheltered by some shade.  
“Ah. Cody.” He stands up and steps forwards, grabbing the back of Cody’s neck and pulling him forwards, doing the traditional forehead touch to signify respect.  
“Hi Dad.” Cody responds, breaking free from the touch and holding Obi’s hand.  
“Who is this young man? Could he be the boyfriend that Rex was telling me about?” Cody makes a mental note to kill Rex. And to do it soon.  
“Yes. Jango, this is Obi Wan. Obi, this is Jango Fett.” The pair shake hands and Obi smiles.  
“Pleased to meet you sir. Your sons have told me a lot about you.”  
“Nothing bad, I hope. Is Wan your surname?” Jango asks, scanning Obi.  
“No sir. My surname is Kenobi, taken from my mothers side.” Obi says confidently.  
“Kenobi eh? Any relation to Jya Kenobi? Dooku’s daughter?” Obi blinks, obviously thrown off.  
“Uh yes sir. She was my mother.” Jango nods, considering it.  
“I used to serve with Dooku. His daughter was my age. She married Qui Gon Jinn if I remember correctly. Is he your father?” Obi tenses and Cody can feel it in his grip.  
“No. He is no father of mine. Not anymore.” Obi forces out, Jango immediately noticing the way tension seeps through his body.  
“Of course. I understand completely. Come, sit down.” He points to the chair next to him. Obi nods and sits down. “Cody? Are you simply going to stand there or will sit down?” Cody drops like a stone, sitting grumpily on the towel and crossing his arms. 

The sun seeps into Padme’s bones, tanning her already dark skin. Her book, lying on the towel beneath her, is slowing down, reaching the conclusion. The final words greet her frantic page turn and she sigh, pushing her messy plait backwards. The book bag leaning on Anakin’s chair is empty. Annoyingly so.  
“Shit. Come on past me! I should’ve packed another book.” She groans, burying her head in the towel.  
“Padme? You alright?” Ponds stands above her, book sitting open in his hands. Oh, thank god.  
“Ponds. Please please please tell me you have another book.” She begs, pushing herself up to her feet.  
“Uh yeah? I think I have a few spares in the car. What kind of book do you want?” He asks, pulling a pair of car keys out of his pocket.  
“Oh, thank you so much. Any book would be alright. It’s just that I forgot to pack another book because I was too busy trying to get everyone else packed.” She pulls her shoes to her, the strappy sandals winding up her ankles.  
“It’s all good.” They start off down the beach, passing the mess that is a volleyball net with Fox wrapped in it. “Fox!” Ponds shouts. “You need help?” His sibling just flips him off, trying to struggle his own way out. “I’ll take that as a no.” Ponds mutters, checking his phone.  
“Are you still with Mace?” Padme asks, being quite close with the whole Windu family. Ponds’s face lights up, eyes sparkling at the thought of his boyfriend.  
“Yes, we are. I love him. But he tends to come back from soccer training at the weirdest times and then shed dirt and grass all over the place.” He says bonding with Padme over the stupidly crazy for soccer boyfriends they have.  
“Tell me about it! Anakin walked on my fluffy carpet a while ago. He was still in his boots and dripping blood everywhere!”  
“The thing is that I can get Mace to shower, but he just somehow gets more dirt on him by the time he dries off. It’s so confusing.”  
“What I do with Ani is that I wrap him in blankets to trap him until he sheds all the dirt and then I release him.”  
“I’ll try that next time.” Ponds says, reaching the top of the stairs and peering down at Scarif Bay. “I like it when most of my family is in one place. But it gets so much more confusing to keep track of who likes who and who hates who when everyone looks the same.”  
“Who likes someone?” Padme asks, walking over to the car.  
“Do you really want to open that box of chaos?” He asks, unlocking the car.  
“I won’t tell anyone. You have my word as a politician word.”  
“Everyone knows that you can’t trust politicians. But I will take your word as a friend.”  
“Deal.” She shakes his hand and crosses her arms. “So, what’s the gossip?”  
“OK. Well you know about me and Mace obviously. Bly and Aayla, everyone knows that one. But Fox? That idiot has some feelings for one of your friends.” He says smugly, raising his brows.  
“Who? Is it Lia? I bet it is.” He raises one hand.  
“It would completely betray his trust. I’m shocked you think you could get it out of me so easily! Of course it isn’t Lia! It’s Riyo Chuchi.” The small and pretty politics student had caught the eyes of Fox a while ago, but he never acted on it.  
“Oh my god. That’s so perfect! She likes him too!” Padme shrieks, grabbing a book from the car and hurriedly reading it’s cover. “Quick. I need to know absolutely everything.”

A volleyball net had somehow been stuck in the back of the Wolfpack’s car. The group had hammered it into the ground and drawn out the rough lines, making a scoreboard in the sand. Melia, Echo, Fives and Ahsoka make up one team, Wolffe, Sinker, Boost and Comet on the other. Melia stands back, holding the volleyball in one hand. She tosses it in the air a few times, before chucking it high and smacking it with all her might. The serve arrives right at the centre of the Wolfpack, Sinker diving on the sand to dig it upwards. Boost sets it high, the ball twisting before Wolffe slams it down over the net. Ahsoka attempts to get it too late, twisting her leg underneath the ball and booting it back into the air. Echo sets it gently and Fives just digs it straight over. Sinker and Boost both go for the ball, neither calling it, Boost flying backwards and onto the sand, messing up the line.  
“Point to Domino Squad!” Jesse yells.  
“Call for it you idiots!” Wolffe yells, rolling the ball across to Melia. She passes it to Ahsoka, who grins, braids wound into a bun.  
“Don’t!” Fives jokes. Ahsoka flips the ball up and smashes it across the net. Comet sets it neatly and Boost hits it over with his palm. Fives leaps up to hit it and spikes it clean over. Over the final line. Minor problem  
“And that is a point to the Wolf Pack!” Jesse crows, drawing another line on the scoreboard.  
“Come on guys. Hard hits.” Echo nags, crouching and getting ready for the serve. There is a reason why Wolffe is called Wolffe. Pure viciousness resides in his soul. His serve makes Melia dive across the sand, digging frantically. The ball goes over, bounces out and she pushes up to her feet.  
“Ow. Fucking ouch. Oh, fucking fuck. Mother fucking fuck.” She curses, flicking her wrists and wiping the sand off her body. She shakes it out, brushing at her stomach and thighs. “That hurts more that fucking turf burn!” Fives reaches out to her, wiping some sand off her arms and shoulders.  
“A point to the Wolf Pack due to too much swearing.” Tup laughs and draws another line in the sand, the usually distracted teen smiling at the chaos he causes.  
“Oh, come on Tup’ika. You can’t do that!” Ahsoka yells. The next ball she hits soars straight over the line and into Cody, lying back on the towel.  
He shoots up and Obi reaches out to grab the ball.  
“Can I have it? I used to play volleyball and I want to kick their ass. Nobody hurts my boyfriend.” He grins menacingly, flipping the ball in between his hands. He runs, jumping and slamming the ball over the net. Echo jumps off the court and Obi switches in. 

Jango looks on approvingly at the chaos that one man against the Wolfpack can cause.  
“Did you see what he did when you got stuck in the whitewash?” He asks. Cody looks up and raises a brow.  
“No? Hardcase pulled me out of the water and onto the board. What did Obi Wan do?”  
“He dove off his board the second the wave hit you. Undid the ankle cuff and everything. He was trying to drag you out but Hardcase got to you first. He immediately went in to try and save you. He’s a good kid. Knew his grandad. Keep that one Cody.” Jango pulls the book off the ground and starts reading again.  
“Cody! Come join my team!” Obi laughs, twirling on the sand and kicking up the grains, tripping slightly. “Come on! I know volleyball isn’t really your sport, but you can kick the ball. Even header and knee it. I need a partner!” He spins again, tossing the ball up.  
“Who said volleyball isn’t my sport? I will literally kill them!” Cody stands up, jogging over to the group, running his curls to the side. Obi laughs, tripping into his arms. Cody looks down at the most perfect person ever and kisses him softly.  
“Have I ever told you I love you?” Cody asks. Obi shakes his head.  
“No. But you can.” He whispers, rubbing a hand against his wrist and the heart on there.  
“I love you.”  
“I do too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact- This is the largest chapter for this story I have written yet, sitting at exactly 5555 words


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody really is in for a day of baking, siblings are idiots and sleep is for the weak.

The lights flick on in Cody’s room and he flips up, tossing off the blankets dropping off the bed, intercepting the heavy body hitting him. He groans, feeling the air whooshing out of his lungs.   
“Get the fuck off.” He groans, blinking at his brother, who just laughs, an evil grin devouring his face.  
“But Cody….” Fives whines, stretching out the name to the point where Cody is fully willing to smack him into space.   
“What the fuck do you want at…” He twists his head and glares at the clock on his bedside shelves. The blinking red lights that show him the time seep into his skull and he sighs at the time, smacking his head back onto the pillow. “Four am? You fucking woke me up at four? For what? To annoy me? In that case, kindly get the fuck out of my room then.” He growls, pushing himself off the pillow and kicking out at the boy.   
“Well since you asked so nicely…” Fives laughs, jumping off the bed and grabbing the back of Cody’s chair, spinning it around to face the bed, sitting backwards on the chair and crossing his arms across the back.   
“Get the fuck off my chair.” Cody hisses, propping himself up and frowning. “So, what is it you wanted?”   
“I was getting to that. Calm down! Wow, someone is grumpy!” Fives laughs, smiling too largely for this time of the morning.   
“It’s four am. I am awake because of you, you absolute asshole. I have every right to be grumpy. You going to tell me what you woke me up for or is it a ten guesses kind of scenario? Because all of my guesses will consist of swearing.” He states, flipping a rude gesture at Fives.  
“Don’t all your guesses consist of swearing?” Fives asks, tilting his head. Cody’s returning glare doesn’t manage to dampen Fives’s spirit, as he blinks and carries on. “Anyway, I was just wondering how… Wait no, that’s wrong. Melia was wondering how you would keep the defensive line together. Well she was actually wondering how you would solve the problem of Nightsister strikers running through on the ball and keeping them offside while trying to stay with the midfield players. She had a talk with Shaak Ti about it once and she kind of forgot exactly what she said about her problems and how to solve them and the only other person who we could think of that had actually has experience with this kind of thing and was thinking of going professional was you.” He rambles, leaning on one hand and grinning. “Nah, just kidding, it was Anakin. But he was already at the fields and we couldn’t find him so we came to you. Melia really needed to get advice so here we, actually it’s just me, here I am. What do you say?” Cody blinks in shock, shaking his head slightly. “About the Nightsisters and the problem?” Fives picks up his phone and shows an image of the game plan. A plan immediately starts to form in Cody’s head, shoving the sleepiness to the side.   
“Give me the notebook on the desk behind you. No. Not that one. The other one.” Fives sticks out his hand and pats at the desk, grabbing for a notebook. “Right there. The silver one. It really isn’t that hard. Are you blind? Seriously? Grab the silver one. What part of that sentence do you not understand? Fucks sake. It is literally right there. Move your hand. Right. No, not that one. Move it to the right. Oh my god. I swear that you are the stupidest. That’s the one. Grab it. The one you just touched.” He lets his head droop back, smacking it into the wall behind him.   
“You mean this one?” Fives asks, tossing the silver notebook at Cody, who doesn’t even try to intercept it, letting it hit the wall and drop to the bed.   
“Is there a pen?” The pen comes seconds later, soaring towards his face. Cody manages to grab it right before it hits his head, hissing as the point digs into his palm. “Gee thanks you bastard.”  
“You are welcome.” Fives scoffs, balancing his chin on his hand.  
“So, you wanted the way to keep the line? Right. Mark the midfield more. Make the holding mid actually be holding and bring it in line. Whoever is back with Melia, move her up and into the holding when you need to. Melia keeps her line, shuffles over to assist the wings. Then those twins can push up onto the wings, freeing up some space in mid and striking. Aayla pushes up on a corner kick and Melia hangs back, letting all the others run in on the ball and hopefully, put it in the back of the net. I say hopefully, because the corners Ahsoka take tend to fly over and then get put in. If that makes sense.” He writes it down in dot points. “If you want to give this page to Ahsoka or Melia, feel free. Just don’t give it to Aayla, because she will staple me to a fucking wall if she finds out that I have been going behind her back and giving advice and gameplay. I’m scared of her.”  
“But what would you suggest about the Nightsister strikers running through and dragging the line back?” Fives asks again, jumping off the chair and flopping back onto the bed.   
“I would say that you push them offside and keep the lines structure, making sure that they don’t get dragged down to the box again and again. If it gets to the point where you hit the box, put it out as fast as you can. It is so much easier to win the ball back from a throw in than it is to get it from the eighteen yard box to the halfway line. So, you put it out and then turn and win it back as quickly as you can. Got it?” A blank look from Fives gets Cody sighing. “Look. All you need to do is give the notes to Ahsoka and Melia and they can do the rest. Got it now?”   
“I think so…” He reaches out and grabs the piece of paper that Cody tears off, wincing at the loud noise. Fives leaps up, rolling off the bed and racing to the door. “Thanks for the help Cody, love you.”  
“Next time you say you love me then come here and fucking wake me up at four am, I will murder you with this.” Cody rolls over and grabs the closest thing, hoping that it might be something he can use as a weapon.  
“Your gay cloud pillows?” Fives asks cynically, raising an eyebrow and smiling. Shit. He looks down and sees the pillow, fluffy white fabric with sunshine and rainbows printed on it.  
“Don’t think that I can’t kill you with this.” He sits up, wincing at the strain in his muscles. Cody flips the pillow and hurls it as hard as hard as he can directly at Fives, who dives to the floor, creating a massive bang.   
“I shall take that as an invitation to get out. Do I?” Fives says, lying on the ground.  
“Get out and turn off the fucking light.” The light flicks off and Cody rolls onto his back, staring straight up at the dark ceiling. The clock on his bedside table betrays him, showing it as ten past four. “Fucking four am. I hate my family.” He pulls a pillow to his face and screams quietly into it, hugging it to his chest. “What a bastard.” He groans, shuffling around and trying to get comfortable in order to catch at least a bit of a nap before the next Fett barges in. 

A bang wakes him up next, Cody not bothering to kick the blankets off the bed or sit upright. The door flies open and smacks straight into Cody’s desk, sending a cascade of stationary onto the floor.  
“Whoever the fuck that is, pick up my stationary or I will toss you out of the fucking window. Fives, if that is you again, you have six seconds to run.” He growls, pressing his back into the mattress.  
“It’s your fault for not fixing that shitty desk! And what the fuck did Fives do now?” The shout comes from outside the door, Rex poking his blonde head in and glaring back at his brother.  
“Well why the fuck did you throw my door open then?” Cody yells, sitting up and shooting his brother several rude gestures, blinking sleep from his eyes.  
“I did that because I need you up. Dad texted me by the way. He says hi to you, but that’s not important. Anyway, we need to make cookies and brownies or something. Something about the soccer game tonight? It’s weird, I know. But Ahsoka just texted me saying that they need people to make sweet foods for the sale at the game and as Fives is in the soccer team, we are forced to make some sort of food. Anakin texted me as well, and he is doing training with the girls. So that means that we are stuck making sweet food because there is way too much sugar in our dorms and dad will go nuts if he sees the sugar stash again. Last time he tossed sugar out of the window. I have to go to the store and work, but you can’t do the baking alone. So, I suggest you call up a friend and get your ass baking.” Rex says, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.   
“What? Really? That’s bullshit.” Cody groans.   
“Yeah, I know. Not my fault, not my problem. It’s your problem now, and you can deal with it.” Rex pushes off the door and strolls out of the room.  
“Oi! Get the fuck back here! I am not dealing with this! It’s first thing in the morning! You can’t drop that on me then leave! I already had to deal with Fives this morning! You need to help me out!” He shouts back, sitting up and hurling a pillow after his brother. “Rex! Rex Fett don’t you fucking dare leave!” Another pillow thunks into the doorframe and Cody begins to hiss swearwords under his breath, hearing the front door slam shut behind his fleeing sibling. “Oh, come on!” He sits up and squirms out from under the blankets and stands up, slapping at the suspended bookshelves to attempt to find his phone. It falls off the shelf and onto his toes.   
“Ow mother of fuck. Shit.” He hisses, quickly picking up the phone and opening the chat. He ignores the usual bullshit generated in the Fett Clan Junior Group Chat. Cody scrolls straight past the sixty plus messages piling up and opens the chat under Obi Wan. The usual messages in there are love hearts, and sappy messages, including his response to Cody saying he needed to go.

Obi Wan <3  
Obi: See you tomorrow for the game  
Obi: I love you   
Codes: Hey, good morning, Rex just told me that each person on a Republic team has to contribute to the bake sale somehow. Do you want to come over and make some food with me?  
Codes: It’s boring to do it alone and I need company  
Obi: Sure. Want me to bring anything to cook with?  
Obi: Any idea what to bake?  
Codes: Nope. We have a lot of spare ingredients. Plus, we need to get rid of the sugar before my dad sees it. He’s coming over in a while and we need something to get rid of all the sugary stuff  
Obi: OK. Cupcakes then?  
Codes: Chocolate ones?  
Obi: Of course  
Codes: Be over in an hour?  
Obi: See you then

He pushes off the floor and walks out the door, ignoring the pile or pillows and the stationary scattered all floor. It’s a problem for him in the future. Him right now needs some breakfast.

A knock on the door startles him and he skids across the floor and kicks the pillows and stationary back into his room, cursing him from the past, grabbing the door and slamming it shut, before darting back across the room, tripping over his toes and opening the dorm door. Obi is there, wearing a jumper that is decidedly not his. Cody’s golden jumper with the sun on the front is too lose on Obi Wan. The sleeves hang over his hands slightly, making him look extremely cute.  
“Hi.”  
“Hi.” Obi replies, walking through the door and burying himself in Cody’s arms.   
“Chocolate cupcakes?” Cody asks, planting his chin on Obi’s hunched over head.  
“Mhm. Do we have to do it right now?” He asks, looking up sleepily.  
“Yeah. We really need to. It’s needed in a couple of hours. The game is tonight. So, we need to get cooking.”  
“Fine.” Obi grumbles. He releases Cody and dumps his bag on the couch.   
“Alright, the first thing we need to grab is the bowls.” Cody says, pointing at the cupboard under the sink. Obi opens it up and pulls out three stainless steel bowls and one ceramic and drops them on counter, removing the bowls and lining them up. “Now the beater.” Cody opens up the cupboard and plugs in the beater, sticking the individual paddles into the bottom, placing it next to the bowl. “So, the recipe says 2 ounces of dark chocolate melted with 4 ounces of butter.” He kicks the fridge open, chucks the butter to Obi, and jumps on the counter, opening a shelving system and tossing down the chocolate. Obi is already slicing the butter, putting the bowl in the microwave. They sit there, Obi on a stool and Cody on the counter. The beeping interrupts their hand holding, Cody pulling down the bowl and stirring them together.   
“What now?” Obi asks, mixing up the butter and chocolate.  
“The recipe says that we mix in two eggs, a cup of sugar, and a third of a cup of flour. OK then.” He puts the beater into the bowl, passing the eggs to Obi, who breaks them into the smaller bowl. The sugar and eggs mix together, joining the butter and chocolate. Obi grabs a third of a cup of flour, pouring it into the bowl. Cody nods, starting the mixer. Unsurprisingly, the flour piled on the wet mixture shoots up, smacking into Cody’s face, coating his surprised expression with bright white. He blinks, a cascade of flour shooting off his eyes and lashes. Obi just can’t stop the laughter, he begins cackling madly, clutching his hands over his stomach, slipping backwards off the stool and landing on the ground, unable to stop laughing at his boyfriends expression.  
“Oh.” Cody mutters softly, taking in his expression in the mirror on the wall. That just makes Obi laugh harder, sending him into a giggling fit. Cody leans backwards, grabbing a handful of the flour and tossing it at Obi. He freezes, a cascade of flour pouring off his twitching face.   
“It is so on now.” Obi growls playfully, grabbing a handful of flour, blowing it at Cody, who dives to dodge it. They dance around the kitchen, tossing flour at each other, the cupcake mixture completely forgotten as Cody slips on the floor, knocking over Obi, who rolls onto Cody’s legs and flips up, daring his boyfriend into a game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through my Avatar binge and I'm going to write a Clone Wars Avatar crossover, would anyone be interested in reading it?


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Nightsisters and Defenders finally have their match and it goes just as well as expected.

Cody holds Obi Wan’s hand with one hand and a tray of cupcakes in the other. The pretty and perfect chocolate cupcakes have caramel buttercream frosting done in a swirled pattern on top, little silver and gold painted sugar balls sitting on top of the icing. They are stunning, caramel icing with little flecks of salt in order to cut through the sugary treat. Obi holds his own tray of cupcakes; these ones have miniature Republic crests painted on with the colours of the Defenders. They scan their student passes and walk over to the cake stand. Ponds is manning it, sitting with Padme. They have a similar fashion style, Padme’s high waisted soft jeans and white shirt with the Republic logo match with Ponds’s black jeans and warm yellow top. Padme laughs at something Ponds said, drawing an intricate flower on the back of his hand.  
“He said that? Oh god! Let me guess, he got rolled by a girl!” She laughs, her hair flowing down her back, two braided strands clipped together in the centre of her wavy locks. Ponds laughs as well, shaking his head.  
“Yeah he really doesn’t like playing the Defenders. But we all know that Mace is just salty because every Defender can kick his ass without any effort at all. Last time he played them in a scratch match, Melia rolled him like hell when he tried to get through her defensive line.” Ponds explains, smiling at the approaching pair. “Hi Cody! Is that the tray of cupcakes that you promised us?” He asks, grabbing a list from under the table and sliding it across to Padme. She scans it, checking every name.   
“And who’s name are they under?” Padme questions, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. She smiles, pointing out two names on the list. “Anakin? He already handed his in and the cookies were burnt. Ahsoka? Or Fives?” She narrows it down, crossing Anakin’s name off the list with a thin purple highlighter.   
“Well these ones belong to Fives.” Cody says, placing down his tray of chocolate and salted caramel brownies. Obi lets go of Cody’s hand and steadies the tray, lifting it up to table height.  
“And these are from Ahsoka. And kind of Anakin. Or just from me.” Obi slides the tray onto the table and nods, waiting for Padme to cross it off.   
“Ahsoka handed hers in with Melia. They made some sort of cookies? Well Ahsoka made some cookies that were burnt and crazy, but Melia made the best chocolate macaroons that I have ever had in my life. Somehow, I really wasn’t surprised. She has lots of useful talents. And they somehow never actually make sense.” Padme explains, just writing a note next to Melia and Ahsoka’s names.   
“Well that is most of the Defenders crossed off, but the Council is falling behind this time. Oh. Hey Cody, did you hear that the Council had their season delayed? That bastard Grievous and most of the men’s Separatist team got in trouble because they all cheated on their exams in order to actually pass this year and stay on the team. Grievous, or whatever his name is, got expelled and the rest of the team got temporarily suspended. They should be punished more, but this means that the season is being pushed backwards in order to give the Separatists time to whip up a new team. They probably won’t be able to find players, so the season might just be cancelled.” Ponds pulls up a document on his phone and flips it to show Obi and Cody. Cody looks at the official email.

Dear members of Republic and Independent Universities,   
We regret to inform the public that a few members of our Dathomir men’s junior and senior soccer team have been found to have cheated on exams and tests in order to remain in their respective teams. Those who were caught showed remorse for their actions and are truly sorry to any harm they may have caused the community. One of the main leaders of this problem has been expelled, two have been placed under temporary suspension, and the rest will be suspended and their membership to their team will be placed under revision or fully revoked. Unfortunately, this means that we no longer have the correct number of registered players necessary to continue our membership to the University tournament. This means that we have made an agreement with Republic and Independent University to temporarily postpone the men’s soccer season in order to recruit extra players and hopefully keep us in the tournament. Separatist University takes full responsibility for this problem and we apologise to both the players and spectators both in our University and the others. Thank you for your cooperation and patience in this difficult time. The soccer season will hopefully resume within a few months and we hope that people will attend the games when they open up again.  
Head of Separatist University, Dean of Seranno House,  
Count Dooku

“Shit.” Cody mutters in awe.   
“Grievous. Isn’t Grievous the one that gave you that scar? He deserves way more than an expulsion.” Obi asks him, large eyes open in questioning expression. Cody freezes, unconsciously brushing his scar.  
“Yes. He is. But this is enough. For now.” Cody replies. Obi nods, deciding that he might as well go for a cuddle. He opens Cody’s arms and jumps in between them, wrapping his arms around Cody’s waist and tucking his head into him.  
“For now. But if he ever hurts you again, he’s going to get much more than expelled.” Obi mutters in a seemingly sweet tone that contradicts the words. The deep threats sits between them, a protective barrier.  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too. But for now, we got to go watch the game. I can commit murder later.”

They find their spot on the benches, Fives saving them by lying across three spaces, hands tucked behind his head. Unsurprisingly, boxes of pizza are scattered across the other benches, everyone trying to cram down food. Anakin sits with his phone out, texting Padme, while Kix, Echo and Helix have a set of blueprints and spreadsheets on their laps. Fives jumps up when he sees the approaching couple, choosing to try and seize a paper off Kix’s lap. The scalpel is there in seconds, dangerously close to his throat.  
“Hands off.” Kix mutters in a lethal tone. Fives sees the steel in his eyes and realizes that his brother means business, withdrawing his hand and fixing a smile on his face.  
“Calm down. What are you even doing?” He asks, ignoring the way that his twin stands up.   
“None of your business Fives, turn around. The game is going to start soon.” At the magic word game, Fives whips around, smiling at the Defenders as they warm up. Cody sits down, scanning the crowd.   
“Oh look! It’s the Nite Owls!” Obi says happily, pointing out a group of lethal looking girls, all of whom wear Independent University jackets and cold expressions.  
“They look scary.” Cody whispers back, only to get a quick and efficient smack on the back of his head from Rex.  
“Shut up. The game is starting.” The girls shake hands down on the field, before getting into position and getting ready to start.

The game starts off well, Ahsoka slamming the ball well into the heart of Nightsister territory with her first shot. The Nightsisters quickly push back, putting the Defenders on the defensive. Katooni pushes into the wing, slipping and sliding through their midfield and booting the ball out to Adi Gallia. The girls work together, moving in with Ahsoka and creating a triangle, booting the ball from one to another, confusing the one person who dares to go up against them. They attempt to slide and tackle Katooni, but she jumps out of the way and flips the ball into the air, almost tossing it over her opponents head. The cheer comes from the side, Cody and Obi standing up and cheering as well.   
“Yeah!” Fives screams, gaining the attention of Melia on the field, who blows him a kiss and then runs away, moving up and giving assistance to wings. Something that Barriss should be doing. Barriss is currently hanging back, letting the Nightsister striker sit well onside and ready to run when someone gives her the ball. That does happen, almost inevitably. The stream of curses that Melia spits as she runs back is astounding, kicking the ball out from between the Nightsister’s legs and twirling low, moving her leg before a foul can be called at any time. The way she kicks it out shows her anger and viciousness, sending the ball well out of the field. It soars into the stands, someone catching it and tossing it back down onto the pitch. A Nightsister grabs it and runs down the line, hurling it as far as she can. Tiplar gets shoved out of the way, muddy scratches on her socks already showing up. Her green hair extensions ripple as she chases down the person trying to get down her wing. Karis, the small and light striker dodges every single attempt to steal the ball, the ponytail of blonde swinging with her movement. She gains on goals, Aayla getting ready to dive or jump to stop the ball. Barriss goes to dive in as well, but she gets the ball passed straight through her legs, not even making an attempt to stop the ball after it passes her.

Melia slides into the fray, her braid already coming loose, even though it is less than halfway through the gam. The Nightsister in there attempts to get to the ball first, frantically using her shoulder to push the defence Capitan out of the way. Melia doesn’t care, letting the shoulder strike her in the back, kneeing the ball up into the air. Once the ball is in the air she headers it up, sending the ball flying over to Tiplar, who takes it and races up the wing, passing it off at the first opportunity. Melia rotates her shoulder, wincing slightly at the strain on her muscle.   
“Keep it together Barriss, the only reason we got pushed back to the box is because you hung too far back and got made a fool of. I’m last man, just push up and out of the line. Help hold the midfield. Just don’t stay back all the time!” She shouts, adjusting her headband and flicking some grass off her leg.  
“I know!” Barriss snaps, storming out of the line and into holding midfield. Melia sighs, rubbing her shoulder in an attempt to numb the pain. Barriss attempts to header the ball as it gets booted out from goals, instead it slams into her chest, hitting her hands. The ref blows his whistle, holding out his hand and pointing to Barriss.  
“Handball. Penalty shot to the Nightsisters.” He says. Melia’s head snaps up and she storms up to the ref, fury on her face.  
“What? It’s an accidental handball! That should be an indirect free kick! Not a penalty!” She yells, glaring at the ref.  
“No arguing with the ref.” He replies, annoyed by the defender’s obvious fury. He stares her down and she doesn’t back down at all.  
“That’s ridiculous! It isn’t a penalty at all! It should be an indirect free kick!” She protests again, fire gleaming in her eyes.  
“You argue one more time and I will bench you for the rest of the season.” He threatens her, holding the whistle to his lips. Melia still doesn’t back down, daring him to bench her.   
“Enough!” Ahsoka says, grabbing Melia by her arm and pulling her away from the referee. “I’m sorry about that. She doesn’t know when to stop. We accept the penalty.” Ahsoka apologises, pushing the defender back into her line. Melia still looks furious, steam almost coming out of her ears with the fury. Once they’re far enough away, she turns, glaring at her friend.  
“That was my fight! I could’ve got us out of that penalty easily!” She growls, using a martial art move to smack Ahsoka’s hand off her shoulder and push Ahsoka away.  
“Yeah Melia, I understand. But we had to let it go or he would’ve benched you. We can’t have our best defender on the bench. It’s a fact that if you go off, we get our asses kicked. If you get put out the whole season, we will get thrashed every game and it will be just like last year. OK? I can’t let that happen.” Ahsoka ignores her friends anger and pulls her in by the shoulders, quickly pushing her forehead to Melia’s. “The team needs you. I need you. So, don’t be an idiot OK?” She moves her head and smiles slightly. “Now let’s get our asses out and play the fucking game.” She smacks her friend on the back and jumps onto the sides of the eighteen-yard box, ready for the penalty shot to be taken. 

The Nightsister who takes the shot has platinum blonde hair, shaved on the sides with purple patterns in it. Asajj Ventress. The wraith with a vendetta against the Republic, who is currently dating Quinlan Vos. Her porcelain skin stands out against her red and black uniform. The winged eyeliner and purple mascara glow as a light sweat coats her skin and she frowns, taking a few steps back from the ball and getting ready to boot it. Aayla gets ready to block it, cracking her fingers and twirling her wrists. Asajj kicks the ball, slamming the full force of her weight behind it. It shoots to the side, just missing Aayla’s gloved hands. For second, just a split second, it looks like Asajj misses the shot. The ball bounces off the post and Aayla continues her dive. The ball ricochets off post and flies backwards, towards the net, Aayla slipping on the ground and managing to scoop it out of goals. She grabs the ball and slides out of goals, cradling the ball to her chest. Asajj runs in, nearly kicking Aayla as she attempts to score a goal from the missed penalty. She slides, tearing up the dirt in large strips. The scraps rain onto Aayla, who pushes herself to her feet, still clutching the ball with all her strength.

“Aayla! Up the wing!” Ganodi yelling as she streaks up the wing. Aayla stands, running up to the edge of the eighteen-yard box, and then jumps into the air, kicking the ball from her hand with all her might. It works and Ganodi jumps to receive it, bouncing it off her chest and onto the ground. She chases it, weaving around Naa’leth, the woman on the same wing attempting to tackle her then dodge out of the way. Merrin dives in on her in minutes, attempting to knock the ball out of the field. Ganodi is shoved over by Merrin, who rammed her over. The ball flies over to Bultar Swan, who uses her martial arts training to the extreme, moving swiftly and lightly on her feet, dodging her opponents, including Ilyana, who attempts to slide in and toe punt the ball away from the eighteen yard box. Stass Allie runs in behind her, waiting for Bultar to pass it back to her. Ahsoka is there as well, sprinting up the side of the box. Bultar crosses, doing a perfect kick that flies all the way to Ahsoka on the other side of the box. Ahsoka passes it through to Stass, who toe punts it into the goals. Or at least she would have if someone hadn’t slammed into her, letting the ball bounce off their shin pads. The ref blows the whistle once, twice, thrice and then gestures to the sidelines, signalling half time


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Nightsisters and Defenders continue to play, and Melia finally loses her temper.

Melia yells at Barriss and gestures wildly for her to push up into the midfield. The other girl doesn’t even try to push up. Melia is visibly frustrated, just turning and moving to cover both of their positions. The next ball, played from somewhere up in the other team’s defensive line, soars over Melia to a player who is right there, next to Barriss, held onside by someone who is definitely not meant to be the last man of the defensive line. Barriss doesn’t even try to dive in, try to tackle her, but the Night Sister is too fast, twirling around Barriss like a ballerina. Melia, hair flying madly around her face as she bolts, tries to catch up, finally nearing in on them as they both approach the goals. The other girl doesn’t see Melia racing in but sees Aayla running out to try and save anything the striker might kick. She swerves around Aayla gracefully, going straight for the now undefended goals. Melia, anger on her face, slams into the way, kicking the ball from under the strikers feet with so much force it spins off the field and into the stands. The striker falls forwards from Melia’s momentum, both of the girls hitting the ground hard, Melia rolling over her and into the pitch. The ref blows his whistle and Aayla races back and pulls Melia up to her feet, trying her best to brush down the younger girl, who smacks her hands away gently, turning to the ref. The tackle was rough, even Cody could call it as that. She saved the goal, and her socks are streaked in dirt, little droplets of blood pooling in the cuts that slice up her thigh, bruises clearly forming in the line created by the other gurls studded boots. Her limp is seen from the seats, Fives smacking a hand over his mouth as he sees the pain clear in her face. Cody waits desperately for the ref to call it, to say what he had seen. His hand raises and signals a foul, Melia not even trying to argue as Aayla drops into the goals and waits for someone to take the penalty. Asajj Ventress steps forwards, waiting for his signal to take the penalty. He nods and she boots it, Aayla madly tossing her body into a slide to grab it. She runs up, booting it all the way out to a wing runner, to Katooni. Melia hangs back, limping slightly as she quickly apologises to Aayla, who flips her blue braids back and simply nods. The whistle blows, Shaak Ti and Mother Talzin convincing the referee to pause the game letting the tired Defenders trudge off the field.

Melia is pissed. Despite the fact that she is defence captain and running the centre, despite the fact she has seniority and is a co-Capitan, Barriss Offee is not listening to anything that she says when trying to help. The pain in her legs shoots up her thigh, blood dripping onto her formerly pristine socks. Aayla is there and Melia needs to talk to her Capitan. She grabs her wrist and pulls her to the side.  
“Defensive line is a problem.” Aayla straight up states, pulling her gloves up tighter. Melia nods, watching another blood drip roll down onto her socks.   
“Not all of us. Barriss is slipping. First she got a fucking handball then she doesn’t listen to me at all.” Melia states, wincing at her mess of a leg. “She was halfway to fucking Coruscant with how far back she was standing. I tried to tell her that she needs to push up but no. Damn it. If she hadn’t let them 20 metres onside, I wouldn’t have had to make a foul in order to stop them from scoring a fucking goal.” Aayla sighs, placing her head into a hand.  
“I’m sorry about that by the way.” She mutters, covering her eyes. Melia reaches out and rubs her back comfortingly.  
“It wasn’t your fault Aayla. Everyone is a bit off today.” She comforts gently.  
“I know. But I still feel guilty.” Aayla says remorsefully.  
“Yeah. But we need Barriss out of my line right now. I can’t deal with her right now. She never fucking listens to any of us and almost goes out of her way to spite us by fucking up even harder. So no, we need her out now.” Melia lays out, placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head back, attempting to stabilise her breathing.  
“Fine. We talk to Shaak Ti.” Aayla agrees. Both of them nod and make their way back into the huddle with Shaak Ti and the other Defenders.  
“OK girls. Listen up. If we lose this game, we lose our shot at finals this year. It’s Aayla’s last year as Capitan and we need to have at least one victory. Wouldn’t everyone like to get the big shiny trophy and steal it from the Nightsisters? They have won it for 3years running. We haven’t won the cup in 5 years. Time to break that streak. This is the best team of Republic girls I have ever coached and I am honoured to be here with you. If we win this, then we get to play the finals. If we even make it to the finals in the first place then it’s still better than last year. So, come on. Get in the game. One goal. That is all I’m asking.” Shaak finishes, placing her hand in the centre of the messy circle. The other girls reach out, placing their hands over hers, everyone but Barriss. Ahsoka gently smacks her roommate who sighs, extending her hand. “Aayla? Would you like to do the honours? " Shaak Ti smiles at her goalkeeper who nods, setting her jaw.  
"Who are we?" She roars, drawing the attention of the other team and all the spectators. The Defenders, noticing the resolution in Aayla's stance, nod, sudden motivation setting in  
"The Defenders! " The yell comes back, causing Shaak Ti to wince slightly, not expecting the loud noise  
"What are we going to do?" Aayla yells.  
"Fuck shit up!" They cheer, raising their hands from the centre and clapping.  
"Get a drink girls. Then be ready for your new postings." The coach says, smiling at the enthusiasm. Everyone bolts for the water, desperate for it after running for half an hour non-stop. Melia and Aayla stay behind, the former fiddling anxiously with her braid.  
"Shaak? We need to talk about the defensive line." She blurts, pointing to the diagram drawn on the whiteboard.  
"Yes girls. I have noticed the problem within that line. Barriss isn't listening to you." Shaak says diplomatically. Melia frowns slightly.  
"It's more than that. She is hanging to far back despite the fact I tell her to push up and make the Nightsisters offside. But she doesn’t and gives them 10 metres of onside. And then when they break through, she doesn’t even try to defend, just sits there and lets them sprint for goals. She got the ball passed through her legs and she didn’t even try and turn to help. I had to deal with it." Aayla teaches out and places a hand on Melia's shoulder once she finishes.  
"It is a problem Coach. Melia handled it, but you saw how rough they tackled her. Barriss has been a bit off lately but this is strange. If we want to win then we need to fix the defensive line. " She explains, neatly pointing to the diagram. Melia rubs at her forehead, attempting to stop the coming headache.  
"Tiplar and Tiplee are playing well. They’re not the problem here. I’m running back and covering for Barriss, but I can't cover for her all the time." Melia bursts in, defending herself and her wings, the twins being crucial players in her defensive line.  
"Yes, I see the point here. Well, what do you suggest I do Melia?" Shaak Ti defers to the defensive Capitan for the decision. Melia breathes deeply, closing her eyes and thinking.  
"Take Barriss off." She says decisively. It’s the only possible option.  
"Who would you move into her place?" Shaak questions, moving the little magnet with Barriss off to the side.  
"None of the junior team can play in this position. They don’t use the same formation style. And I don't want to steal from offense." She opens her eyes, grim resolve in them. "I can play both. Shuffle Tiplar and Tiplee in towards the centre a bit and I can play full centre back." Aayla nods at her solution and turns to the Coach  
"We can’t play a person down if we wish to enter the finals." Coach points out.  
"No, we won't. Put a junior on in roving mid. Melia, it’s your call. That will keep it up at 11 and give extra to the attack." Aayla pulls a juniors magnet onto the field map and nods, waiting for approval from the Coach to go grab a kid off the bench.  
“Ruby. I want Ruby in front of me. If she stays roving then that solves my problems. She was already good at holding mid, just make her push up a bit.” Melia makes the call. Aayla nods, pulling the marker out and quickly writing on Ruby with a little heart next to it.  
“OK. This better work girls. I will go notify Barriss.” Shaak Ti walks away, head held high as Melia slumps behind her, betrayal of her friend eating away at her consciousness.  
“Did we do the right thing Ahsoka?” Melia asks, brushing blood off her leg.   
“Yes. I think we did. I hope we did. Or we just hurt Barriss.” Aayla whispers back, watching the way that Barriss recoils at Shaak’s cool and collected tone as she delivers the news. Aayla runs across to help. The girl looks both sad and furious, eyes wide. Her frosty words strike at Aayla, who holds up a hand.

“Barriss. You are on the bench this half. I’m sorry, but you have been off your game today and just this whole season. I hope you know that it’s in the teams best interest, and I didn’t want to do this.” Aayla says coolly, staring directly into the girls eyes.   
“What? I’m not being benched! You need me! Bench Melia or Ahsoka, just leave me on the field and let me play. It’s not your decision anyways!” Barriss hisses angrily, thick lashes flicking as she blinks in shock. Aayla lifts a hand up to stop the flow of anger and spite spewing from the younger girl.  
“No Barriss. I don’t want to hear it. You have been given so many chances to push up and listen to Melia, and improve, but you just don’t want to fall in line. Follow Melia. That’s all it would’ve taken to get you on the field. You don’t want to do it, don’t listen. So, you will sit off this game, and the next game, and possibly the rest of the season. If that is what it takes to get my point across, then I will do it. I will do anything for this team and this University. I don’t like making this decision. But as the Capitan, it is my final call on the team and what happens on and off the field. I’m sorry Barriss.” Aayla pushes her braids out of her face, guilt on her face.   
“I don’t care if you’re Capitan. That doesn’t give you an excuse to be a mad raving bitch to me. Everyone on the team is just sick of you and the way you and Melia treat us. Bloody bitches you two are. Like we’re worthless and useless. Like we can’t be trusted to make decisions on our own. You are just too stuck up and selfish to notice the fact that we would literally have anyone else leading us. Screw you!” Barriss shouts, pointing a rude gesture at Aayla. The hurt and pain on Aayla’s face is clear, the tears that begin to rise in her hazel eyes.  
“Aayla! The game is starting in five minutes!” Melia shouts, getting ready to jog out onto the field. Aayla nods to her, keeping her tears back.   
“I’ll deal with you later.” She growls to Barriss, who then stalks off indignantly, arms crossed over her chest. Aayla tries to hold it together, she really does. The goalkeeper gloves go on, headband goes on. Then she runs onto the field, crossing behind Melia, who is talking to Ruby.   
“Aayla? You OK?” Melia asks, showing Ruby where to stand for her position. Aayla nods, lip quivering as she attempts to keep it together.   
“I’m fine.” She whispers. Melia quickly says goodbye to Ruby, bolting down the field to Aayla, rushing to grab her friend into a hug.   
“What did Barriss say? I know she didn’t want to go off, but everything she said was just to get inside your head and throw you off your game. OK? What did she say?” Melia holds Aayla at arm’s length, peering into her eyes.   
“She said that I’m a mad raving bitch that doesn’t deserve to be Capitan. And that you and I are such bloody bitches. That we are too stuck up and selfish to be leaders and that everyone else would rather we weren’t on the team.” Aayla sobs, brushing away her small tears. Melia sucks in a sharp breath, fury painted on her stark face.  
“She said that. Oh, that is it. I am going to fucking kill her. Where’s a knife? I am literally going to fucking kill her. She said that to your face? That is a bitch move. Trust me Aayla. The team wouldn’t rather have anyone but you as Capitan, you deserve to be in charge. You have the most experience out of any of us. And you are the goalkeeper and best at leading. There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be in charge. There nearly aren’t enough people for us to have a team, and we can still play if we kick Barriss off. You know what, lets do it. Let’s kick Barriss off. I don’t even know why Ahsoka is friends with her, let alone roommates. What a bitch. Where is she now? I’m going to tell Ahsoka to keep her roommate in line.” Melia snaps, standing up and cracking her knuckles, a strange sort of anger highlighted in her eyes. Aayla grabs her as she goes to turn and yell at Barriss, scanning the crowds for the girl.  
“No. Melia. No murder, no knives, no yelling at Barriss, no yelling at Ahsoka to yell at Barriss. We keep this between us. You and me. It is no one else’s business. Our problem. We deal with this and Barriss. Not Shaak Ti, not Ahsoka, not anyone.” She shakes her friend, watching her blue and brown braids bounce.   
“Fine. I don’t like it, I don’t want too, but we deal with this. I won’t tell Ahsoka. OK?” Melia lists off, fury still flashing through her system like lightning.  
“OK.” Aayla replies, pulling Melia in. They hug, tears sliding down their cheeks. Melia gently presses her forehead against Aayla’s. The symbol of family. 

The game kicks off again, but the Fett family in the stands watch anxiously. The tension in Melia’s body and the sadness seeping off Aayla is visible even from the stands. The next throw in taken by Melia results in a ball being hurled down the line and smacking off a Nightsister. Melia takes it all in her stride, grabbing the ball and doing another throw. This time it gets through to Katooni, who uses her body to shield it from a defender. She turns and passes it back to Melia, who doesn’t even hesitate, booting the ball with all her strength. It sails over the head of the person even brave enough to attempt to tackle her, and lands in the box, right at the feet of Ahsoka Tano. The goalkeeper goes to tackle her and Ahsoka moves like the wind, stepping to the side and slamming the ball through a gap and directly into the net. A yell goes up from the crowd, Cody cheering as he and Obi stand and clap. Ahsoka runs back, hurling herself onto Melia, who’s clear and loud laugh is heard by Fives, who begins to grin madly. Aayla runs out of goals and joins the hugging group, who spin in circles, all laughing and cheering.   
“Come on ladies! Let’s get another one!” Melia shouts, doing cartwheels and handsprings crazily. Her hair smacks her in the face and she leans on Aayla and Ahsoka, waving at the crowd. 

“OK girls let’s get into formation. I want another one exactly like that. You reckon you could do that again Ahsoka?” Aayla asks, quickly stretching out a bit.   
“Yeah. I can do that!” Ahsoka says happily, doing a neat back handspring, grinning crazily. Melia reaches out and twirls her friend, dancing with her.   
“Good. We need another goal. Ruby?” Aayla singles out the newest team member, who stands straight up right at the slight poke from Melia.  
“Yes?” Ruby sounds anxious, worried that she has been messing up. “Did I screw up? I know I should have gotten to that long ball, but I don’t know what else I did. I’m sorry. You can bench me if you need to.” She rambles, causing Aayla to puff out a laugh.   
“Just wanted to say that you’re doing amazing sweetie. Keep it up. Everyone, we want to make Ruby’s first game as a Defender an amazing one. How about we give her a score? That would be great. Wouldn’t it? If we get Ruby in the box, then we get a cross and she can shoot. Let’s do this girl.” Aayla hypes them up, grinning at the excitement. They smack hands and spread out, quickly forming a new formation.

The next goal scored is indeed by Ruby, who gets a glorious header in the last few minutes. She immediately gets picked up by Ahsoka and Adi, who do a chair with their arms and run around the field with her. Melia dies laughing, wheezing as she and Aayla watch the glorious celebration. They jump out of the goals and defensive line as the whistle. The hugging pile begins to sway dangerously as they leap into it. They all fall over, curling into a hugging pile with Melia and Aayla lying on top, crying with laughter and happiness. Aayla sits up, eyes wide.  
“Holy shit. We won. You guys know what this means right? We are in the finals!” She screams, shaking her hands and bouncing up and down. All of the girls scream again, leaping into each other’s arms, crying and laughing as they celebrate.   
“Holy shit!” Melia yells, rolling onto Ahsoka and hugging her hard. They laugh together, slamming their foreheads together and crying. No one notices Barrriss Offee, who slinks off the bench and walks out, anger slipping through her expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about how late I posted this, sleep deprivation is a bitch


	19. Chapter19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Independant University decides to throw a party that celebrates the Nite Owls and Defenders soccer teams. A horrible idea really

Melia stands outside the entrance to Mandalore, strappy high heels resting in the lush grass. Her blue tipped hair is out, curled into intricate ringlets. Her dress is pink and strappy, velvet cutting a high neckline, with a ridiculously small skirt that just brushes halfway down her thigh. The matching belt is gold, intricate swirls of leaves and roses that contrast against the dusty rose halter neck. Gold, bronze and rose gold bracelets line her wrists. Large hoops swing from her ears, little pink gems studded in them. Ahsoka stands out against Melia. Ahsoka’s dress is similar, but different enough to compliment Melia’s.   
Ahsoka’s style has long gauzy sleeves, fading from black to red near the wrists. They pull in, creating a cuff that extend onto the back of her hands. The main part of the dress is black, high collar with a diamond window. It’s pulled in by a belt, black stripes now forming on the short skirt, shorts underneath. A small arrow like shape hangs from the front of the belt, a soft red. A single wrap around bracelet with diamond shaped beads, joined by an hourglass shape, sits on her wrist. Her hair has a patterned band pulled through it, a red jewel swinging in the centre. Black high heeled boots finish her look, little grey fulcrum symbols painted in spirals around the sides. Melia has a clip pinning back her curls, a phoenix gleaming. Her necklace swings as she moves. Fives stands next to her, one arm around Melia’s waist, wearing his council hoodie and jeans. Hunt leans against the concrete and steel wall, on his phone, watching their antics from the corner of his eye.  
“Melia. How the hell aren’t you cold?” Fives questions, pulling the smaller girl closer. She turns in to him, fiddling with her small brass infinity ring.   
“Well Fives, unlike you, I have a tolerance to cold and hot weather.” She says triumphantly. He raises his eyebrows. “OK fine. You let off a hell of a lot of body heat.” She snuggles into him, causing him to lift his arm up and wrap it around her shoulders. Ahsoka snaps a photo of them together.  
“You guys are so damn cute.” She laughs, pushing her long hair, for once not in her distinctive double braids, over her shoulder. A few strands tangle in her headdress. She struggles, nearing pulling out the blue and white strands.  
“Come on Ahsoka. Let me get that for you.” Melia steps out from beside Fives, reaching for the hair strands. The tangled hair is almost tied to the headdress. She gently tugs at it, untangling the strands. Ahsoka nods, grabbing a small compact mirror out of her belt. Melia leans in, applying another layer of candy red lipstick. Ahsoka laughs at her puckered lips, pulling out a small mascara container, putting it on her already long eyelashes. Her lashes flick rapidly, drying out the fluid. Hunt steps forward, snapping the compact shut.   
“Can we go in already?” He looks kind of bored, having been forced to come along by Melia and Ahsoka, their combined puppy dog eyes and offers of chocolate too much for even the strong-willed man to resist. He usually wouldn’t attend a party, the crowded areas, and loud noises too much for him to handle. Plus it is so much more fun to stay home and relax.  
“Really Hunt? You’re the designated driver.” Fives complains.   
“Yeah.” Ahsoka chimes in, pulling her hair into complicated swirly braids and knotted ponytails. “Hunt, you only have to stay for a few hours and that’s it. Pleeeeeaaaasssseee!” She begs. Hunt rolls his eyes with an expression of fondness. He crosses his arms, the tattoo on his wrist clear from underneath his rolled up sleeves.  
“Pleeeeeaaaasssseee!” Melia says, joining hands with Ahsoka. “Hunt, this is to celebrate the Defenders and Nite Owls both beating the Night Sisters. It’s to celebrate us. Could you please stay for just a few hours? I know it’s not your scene for most of the time, but it’s just as fun as staying inside for a gaming marathon or watching every Marvel movie ever.” She leans over to him, ruffling his hair. “Frankly, I don’t care if you’re on your phone the whole time, but please stay for the sake of the Defenders.”   
“OK Melia. I’ll stay. But, in return, you, Ahsoka, Fives and Echo have to come and play on that world.” He bargains. Melia, Fives and Ahsoka’s faces light up in scary sync.   
“That world! The Minecraft one we’ve been making for 10 years?” Melia cries, smiling brightly.  
“Yeah.” Hunt nods to her. They nod at him one by one. “I’ll stay.” They smile, placing their hands into the centre of their small circle.   
“Let’s go guys.” Melia says, flipping her long curls over her shoulder, the blue tips brushing the small of her back. She twirls, heading for the door to the party.

The bouncer, Gar Saxon in a suit, allows them in immediately. The party is loud, Roses playing at the loudest volume from massive speakers that line the room. The music shakes the concrete, steel, and glass room. People are everywhere, dancing to the music on the cramped dance floor. Students from every university line the floors and drink at the set-up bar. Hunt immediately gravitates to the barstools on the rooms side, grabbing a small glass of water. Ahsoka and Melia dart over to the dance floor, swinging each other around and twirling through the crowd. Bodies collide, sweat and alcohol mingling in the air. They dance for nearly half an hour, twirling and bouncing around to the surprisingly good song collection. Melia grabs Ahsoka’s arms.  
“Need a drink!” She shouts. Ahsoka shakes her head, hair dancing wildly, twirling back to the centre if the floor. Melia steps away from the floor, loosening her shoes as she walks off of the floor. Fives is there, against the bar, two glasses in hand. He walks to her, kissing her cheek and passing her a glass.  
“Thanks Fives.” Melia chugs the glass and goes to turn back to the floor. A hand grabs her waist, pulling her close.  
“Hello Melia darling.” Pre Vizsla stands there, blond hair slicked back, pulling her closer.   
“I am not your darling. Let go of me.” Melia’s tone is icy, cold ice slamming down over her face. Vizsla laughs, grasping her tighter.  
“Come on Melia. I’ve seen you in so many soccer games, and I want to tell you how hot you look.”  
“Great. Now a sport, a safe space for women is ruined by the grossness of a man thinking it is his right to ogle at someone who just wants to play. Fuck off.” She pulls free, Fives steading her as she stumbles. Vizsla watches the action and the way the Fives grasps her hands. His lip curls.  
“A Fett? Really Melia? I thought that we had something between us.” Vizsla makes an offended sound, stepping towards the couple.  
“We never had any thing Vizsla. That was your imagination. Come on Fives.” She snaps, turning to him. Vizsla lunges, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into an embrace. Melia shoves him backwards, fists clenched.  
“What the fuck?” She yells, clearly heard over the music.  
“You’re always going to come back to me Melia. When everyone else leaves you, I’ll be waiting.” He laughs at her, at Fives attempting to get through the crowd to him. Melia grabs Fives  
“Let’s just go.” Vizsla’s next bout of laughter cuts over the music.  
“Go where? To kiss that Fett, to game with that lunatic or dance with that werido?” His voice drips derision. She freezes, then whips back and punches him dead in the nose. The cracking sound is horribly loud. Everyone stills, watching the confrontation. He falls backward, clutching his nose as blood pours out. Melia stands over him, high heels dangerously close to his privates.  
“Listen up Vizsla. I don’t like you, and I never will. You’re a stupid selfish asshole that believes that making women do things will miraculously get them to like you. It won’t. You’re one day going to get what comes for you and frankly, I don’t give a single fuck about what you want. You do and say shit like that and one day someone is going to do much more than punch you. And when that happens, I’ll be right there, laughing at you. So, get your damn head out of your ass and take a fucking hint.” She says, low and furious. “Understand?” Without waiting for a response, she moves away from the downed Mandalorian, wiping blood from his nose off her dress. Ahsoka and Hunt race to her and Fives, Hunt has an expression of fury stark on his face. If Hunt looks furious, Fives looks so much worse. He’s glaring at Vizsla, cold anger forming his face into one of a predator. Ahsoka grabs her friend, pulling her close.  
“Come on Melia, lets go.” She sounds panicked.   
“No. This is a party to celebrate us and the Mandalore soccer team. We shouldn’t have to run and hide because some asshole crashed our fun.” Melia says, perfectly serious. She strolls over to the bar, picking up a bottle and taking a long drink before smiling at the surrounding people. “Don’t feel the need to stop the party in order to watch a man suffer people.” The music picks up again, people eager to get back onto the dance floor, ignoring the squirming Vizsla. Gar Saxon helps him up, ushering him away. Melia begins to shake, adrenaline fading away. Her legs buckle, the flimsy high heels not supporting her anymore. Fives steps forward, scooping her up, holding her in the air, moving towards the door to the gardens. She still grips the bottle, not wanting to let go. Ahsoka and Hunt walk alongside Fives.

The air outside is freezing cold, shocking everyone. Melia immediately starts to shiver. There is a small bench in the corner of two buildings. The small group makes a beeline for it, everyone sitting. Fives pulls off his hoodie, passing it to Melia, ignoring her complaining. The soft blue fabric has a white Republic crest on both arms, Fett and the number 9 on the back. They sit there, waiting is silence until Hunt bolts to his feet.  
“Come on everyone. You all dragged me along to this party, and now we’re just sitting here. So, we’re going to make the best of a bad situation. Everyone lie on the grass.” Hunt says, lying on the grass already. Ahsoka shrugs, lying next to them. They make a messy circle, heads all together. “What do you guys see?” They look up, seeing the insanely clear sky and the stars dotting it. Clouds dart through the sky, clouding the view.   
“I see the sky, and I see the fact that threes going to be grass stains on my hair.” Ahsoka grumbles.   
“Look closer.” Hunt leans back, grabbing Melia and Ahsoka’s hands. They all link hands, staring up at the sky. “It’s so clear.”  
“Well I’m bored, anyone up for truth or dare or would you rather?” Fives says yawning. Melia rolls up, grabbing the bottle and offering it to Hunt.  
“Might as well drink up.” She says.   
“Oh, it’s going to be a long night.” Hunt groans, accepting the drink.

Cody is in the opposite wing of Mandalore, babysitting his cousin. Wolffe, the absolute idiot, is arm wrestling anyone who even looks at him. So far, he’s beaten most of the people who’ve challenged him, cheering, and slamming another shot down for every victory. Obi stands next to him, hands together, both slightly leaning in. Cody’s hoodie has somehow made its way onto Obi Wan, the man looking slightly tipsy. He has really bad alcohol tolerance, a cause of bullying from all of his friends.  
Anakin and Padme retreated from the party minutes ago, choosing to leave early and enjoy walking back to Republic together. They fit together so well, Anakin being a contrast to her calm nature. She manages to balance everything, being the Captain of the Senate debate team, helping run a program that assists students in need, doing both Politics and Law and English Literature, and stopping Anakin from overworking himself. He in return helps her practise for debates and manages to get her to calm down when the stress becomes to much for even her to handle. Padme was wearing one of her many party dresses, pale yellow halter neck melting into a soft pink skirt that finishes a vibrant purple. Her hair was up in an ornate braid, wearing the carved necklace Anakin gave her for their anniversary. Her boots were bright gold. Anakin was just in a black top with dark grey jeans and his soccer hoodie. His is almost the same as Fives’s, the soft pale blue fabric very warm. His has 8 and Skywalker emblazoned on the back. Sabé, Padme’s roommate, had come along to the party as well, watching Anakin and Padme, making sure they were safe. Eventually she left, choosing to head back to the dorms early in order to complete more of the dresses that she handmakes. Padme, after years of nagging, had agreed to be her model.  
Cheers from the table snap Cody out of his train of thought. Wolffe is leaning back, beer in hand, laughing at the top of his voice. Vizsla, newly broken nose twisted, had just lost against Wolffe. His cousin had seen what Fives had told the Group Chat. That Vizsla tried to bully the girl that Fives would do anything to protect into a relationship, and she had punched him ridiculously hard. Almost every Fett would fight to protect their own, or at least those who someone in the family cares for.  
“Maybe that will teach you Vizsla. Don’t touch someone against their permission. Don’t continue to be a dick after they say no.” Rex leans down from where he perches on a stool, voice icy.  
“She’s weird. Don’t know why that stupid Fett likes her.” Vizsla sneers, going to stand up. Rex stands, tensing, hands balled into fists. Vizsla seems almost too eager for a fight.  
“Alright everyone. Break it up!” A small girl with a red plait storms between them.   
“What you going to do you little Owl? Going to hoot at me? Peck me?” Vizsla taunts, ignoring the girl as she moves closer.  
“The Owls have been watching you Vizsla. I think that being punched by a Defender is enough for one evening. Don’t make me take this to Satine.” Vizsla backs down at her calm threat, obviously scared of this Satine. The girl turns away from them, nearly walking over to Cody.  
“Looking at something? I’m aromantic and uninterested.” She isn’t wearing a dress, instead wearing a heavy leather jacket with the Nite Owls logo over high waisted jeans. It takes Cody a second to realise that she’s talking to him.  
“I’m very very gay.” He answers, Obi raising their hands. She recognises Obi Wan instantly  
“Kenobi. Didn’t know that you’d come back here. With a Fett of all people.” She says, crossing her arms.  
“Yes. This is my boyfriend. Why don’t you run along and tell Satine that I’m not interested in anything she wants to say?” Obi sounds furious, masking it with sarcasm. The Nite Owl nods, striding away, plait swinging.  
“Who was that?” Cody asks softly, turning to his boyfriend. Obi leans forward, kissing his forehead.  
“Someone from the past.” Obi says, sadness clear. He never really talks about his past, instead changing the topic whenever it’s mentioned. Cody kisses him on the lips, breaking away and pressing their foreheads together. Someone wolf whistles, Cody quickly flipping off the culprit, a very smug Rex, who just whistles again.   
“Get a room!” Wolffe slurs, nearly falling off of his stool, causing Rex to leap forward and catch his idiot cousin. Wolffe laughs, slumping heavily into Rex. Cody sighs, breaking away from Obi in order to help his brother.   
“Hey Cody, I’m going to go for a walk and then head back to Republic.” Obi says softly, fiddling with the little beaded bracelet on his wrist. There are three charms on there, a blue and white striped heart, a black and white heart, and a gold heart. Cody knows that they stand for Obi, Anakin and Ahsoka, even though he’s never been told.   
“Do you want company?” Cody questions, reaching out to his boyfriend.   
“No thanks. I’ll be OK on my own. Just want some space to think. I’ll let you know when I get back to the dorms.” He walks off, smiling softly. Wolffe starts yelling about dancing and Cody is pulled back into the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next chapter is the point where it gets extra chaotic and finally to the climax


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party wraps up, and everything somehow gets worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW. Mentions of suicide (Some implied), Minor blood (Not described, just mentioned)

The party is slowly winding down. Cody has had only a couple of beers and a pleasant buzz is in his system. Unlike Wolffe, who is completely drunk and dancing on a table, or Rex, who hasn’t drunk, because he needs to stop his family from doing stupid things. Obi Wan disappeared around half an hour ago. Probably to sleep off his horribly low alcohol tolerance. Someone yells about getting the drunk Fett off the table before he falls, and Cody and Rex grab Wolffe just before he collapses, his half-drunk beer spilling on Rex’s pants. Ignoring his twins cursing, Cody pulls his phone out of his pocket and presses on his messages with Obi. No new ones pop up. Cody knows his boyfriends hairbrained tendencies, having probably dropped or lost the phone again. Or Anakin confiscated it. 

“Cody! Get your ass off that phone and lift this dumbass with me.” Rex’s voice, filled with frustration, yanks him out of his musings and he slides his phone back into his pocket and shoulders half of Wolffe’s weight. It’s only a short stroll from Independent University to Republic. The little JF carved into a brick near the entrance makes Cody smile, seeing the mark of his father. Their dad, Jango, went to Independent and got placed in the Mandalorian dorms. Jango was pretty disappointed when all of his sons decided to go to Republic. Something about not carrying on Fett traditions.   
He can see Melia, Hunt, Ahsoka and Fives lying in the grass, pointing at the night sky while passing around a bottle. He waves at his little brother, who in return flips him off, Hunt gently smacking his hand down and taking another drink. Plenty of students from all three major universities are strolling around. Ventress and Quinlan Vos are sitting on a bench together, Quinlan wrapped in her arms. It’s a strangely relaxed pose to see Ventress in, head resting on her boyfriend’s hair. It feels wrong to intrude on such a personal moment, and Cody turns away, checking the rest of the grounds. He can see Ponds, getting really really friendly with Mace.

“Get it Ponds!” Wolffe slurs loudly. Ponds doesn’t even turn around and flips him off. Rex chuckles and nudges Cody.

“So, brother. Where’s your boyfriend? Not spending the night, is he?” Cody tan skin manages to hide most of the blush, and he attempts to not answer the question. “I think he’s an ok guy. Good enough for my brother. Jango gave his approval.” That’s news to Cody. Obi had never mentioned that. Probably embarrassed by his boyfriend’s dad telling him he approves. It wouldn’t be normal or something. Obi had been prickly about the Fett tradition, probably due to the fact that he cut off all contact with his own father. Cody didn’t press the matter further. When Obi didn’t want to do something, nothing could make him. A little ping in from his phone tells hm he has one new message and he eagerly checks it, hoping its from Obi Wan. It’s from the group chat. 

“Let me guess. The wolfpack is even drunker than Wolffe and they just got their dumbasses kicked out by Death Watch.” Rex mutters, leaning over to see the video. Cody starts the video. Its shitty quality and bad lighting, so probably Fox filming. Obi Wan is at the table, playing some sort of card game. With a flourish he flicks his cards around triumphantly. Everyone at the table groans as he rakes in a pile of chips, grabs a small glass of some clear alcohol, slams it down and turns to the prettiest girl Cody has ever seen. Her pile of elegant blonde hair is swept out of her face as she leans forwards and kisses Obi. Right on the lips. Cody goes still, begging the video Obi to shove her away and leave. But his arms go round her body and pull her closer to him. Their kiss deepens, both of them abandoning the game and focusing on each other. His Obi Wan. Kissing a girl in a way that he had never kissed him. They work so well together and from the way they do it, they’ve done it many times before.  
Cody’s brain shuts down. Something inside him shatters into pieces. His phone slides out of his hand and smacks into the grass as he collapses, dumping Wolffe next to him. 

“Shit. Come on Codes. We got to get Wolffe home. Then we can get this sorted out.” Rex pulls him back up to his feet, balancing the drunken cousin and his brother. A part of Cody wants to yell and argue, say that it isn’t Obi and his Obi wouldn’t do that. But he knows that its definitely Obi Wan. He barely registers the long walk back to the Coruscant Dorms, or the constant chiming as message after message pops up on his phone. His brothers and his cousins. His family. Wanting to comfort him and make him feel better. There’re probably some death threats in there as well. But he can’t feel anything. Once they drop off Wolffe and return to their own dorms, Rex keeps an arm looped around his waist. Anchoring him. Stopping him breaking.  
When they reach their room, Cody stays standing until he reaches his bed. His legs just stop working and he crumples onto the soft sheets. It smells of Obi. Almond conditioner and cinnamon soap. Through a haze of tears, he pulls up the video and watches it again and again. It just doesn’t make sense. Messages keep pouring in and he ignores them all. The only message he wants is from Obi Wan and none of those come in. Rex comes in, hair damp from his shower and in a hoodie and track pants. Without a single word he picks up Cody’s phone and mutes it before placing it on charge. Then Rex sits next to him on the bed. He knows what to do. He gently runs his fingers through Cody’s loose curls and waits until he’s ready.

“I can’t sleep here. It smells like him.” Cody’s voice breaks and he lets out a sob. Rex nods, helping him to his feet and walking him into his’s room. It’s a completely different room, paper scattered around with random pieces of clothing tossed on the floor. He sweeps all the stuff off the bed and guides Cody into sitting down. The blanket goes over Cody, letting him nestle into the warmth. Rex brushes Cody’s hair backwards and turns to leave, startling Cody.

“Please don’t leave. I can’t be alone. I don’t trust myself.” Rex steps back in and pulls up the blanket, bringing his older twin into his arms. Cuddling like they were kids again and someone had upset one of them. Cody collapses and begins to cry into Rex’s hoodie. His chest heaves with the massive breaths he takes, tears pouring down his cheeks. Rex just stays silent and grips his brother tighter.  
Eventually Cody hiccups his last sob and drifts off to sleep. Rex leans over to the bedside table and grabs his phone. Ignoring all the new messages in the group chat, he types out a quick text telling them that Cody is with him and that he’s breaking down. That, if anything, will slightly calm his family down. Cody has a history of keeping everything bottled up inside and only unleashing it when he can’t cope anymore. After their mum left, he wouldn’t talk and just wouldn’t react. A kid at school had teased Rex, and Cody snapped and had broken their nose and beat the absolute shit out of them. There is no way he’s letting his brother do that again. He drops the phone and curls into his brother, burying his face into his pillow.  
“Why the fuck is it always when I have four hours of sleep that shit like this happens?” He asks to no one in particular, sighing. His eyes fuzz over and he closes his eyes, if only just for a quick nap.

When Rex wakes up, the first thing he notices is the lack of his brother. Cody is gone. Fuck 

Fett Clan Jnr GC  
Smexy Rexy: Anyone seen Cody? I woke up and he’s gone  
Wooooolffe: Shit. Not in Level 4 or 5.  
Ponds: Not on level 3. Everyone calls in. NOW  
Foxy Furry: Nope  
Waxing: Found him. He’s in the Gym. You better get down here Rex.

Rex doesn’t wait, just grabs his phone and a hoodie and races for the door. The Gym is on level 2. He bolts down the stairs so fast that he trips and nearly smashes into a wall. He’s practically acting on autopilot at this point. The Gym doors are open and the first thing he sees is Cody crumpled in the corner next to the heaviest punching bag. There are smears of blood on the bag and tear tracks on Cody’s face. Waxer is kneeling next to him, looking worried and scared. Rex sprints across the floor, skidding on his knees to his brother.  
“Cody! What did you do?” Cody’s eyes are unfocused, and he has to blink several times to see Rex. Water still pools in his eyes and his blotchy face crunches up as he squints.  
“Beat the shit out of the heavy bag. Didn’t tape my hands. Needed to feel something.” He whispers, turning his hand slightly to look at the blood, almost detached from his pain.  
“Did it work?” Rex moves to Cody’s side and helps him to his feet.  
“No. I still just feel numb.” Waxer attempts to help, but Rex waves him off.  
“Text Kix and tell him that we’re coming.” Waxer nods and moves away from them. Wolffe races through the door and across to them. His sharp eyes catch everything in the room, the blood smears and the fear in Rex’s eyes. He quickly grabs the other side of Cody. They move off, towards the stairwell. Obi Wan is there, satchel over shoulder, going to class. He sees Cody and tries to move to him, distress painted across his shocked face. Wolffe blocks his way, slamming his hand into the other man’s shoulder.  
“You stay the fuck away from him. You’ve done enough already you bastard.” Wolffe’s voice is in a growl, threatening pain and anger. Obi Wan just stands there, looking just about as broken as Cody.  
“We have to take him to Kix.” Rex eyes the stairs, calculating the exact amount of walking, gritting his teeth.

In Kix’s dorm, the room is almost medically clean. Everything is organised and Kix is sitting at the table with a first aid kit. He doesn’t even question Cody’s state, simply cleaning his knuckles and bandaging his hands. He gives Cody pain killers and discharges him.  
When back in their rooms, Rex strips Cody’s bed and puts on new sheets. Then he hugs him and leaves, promising to be back soon. Cody wants to check his phone. Check if Obi Wan had messaged him. His Obi wouldn’t do this to him. He knows he wouldn’t. When he checks, there’s nothing from his boyfriend. His ex-boyfriend. Boyfriends don’t kiss girls behind their boyfriends back. There were messages from his family however. Hardcase and Tup and Boba had all called him. Even Jango had texted him. It was a simple text. ‘Let me know if you’re all right’. He shouldn’t have expected anything else from his father, a single display of care is usually enough. There was even a message from Anakin. He wasn’t trying to apologise for Obi Wan. What a surprise

Anakin  
Anakin: I’ve been there Cody. It hurts but it does get better.  
Cody: You’ve had this happen?  
Anakin: Oh yeah.   
Anakin: Padme was invited to a party by a guy called Clovis. He made it clear he wanted her and when she turned him down, he kissed her. I saw it and lost it. Blew up at everyone and broke up with Padme. We had been leaning towards splitting up for a while. Cut myself off from everyone. Ashoka eventually got sick of our mutual grief and locked us in a cupboard until we talked it out. We agreed to just be friends. And now we’re back to what we were.  
Cody: Oh. Didn’t know about that. You guys are both hopelessly in love.  
Anakin: We worked it out. What’re you doing right now?   
Cody: Kix confined me to bed rest. Fucked up my hands. Just wanted to feel something again  
Anakin: Are they alright now?  
Cody: Ton of painkillers and an angry brother confining you to your bed tend to work wonders  
Anakin: That sucks. Can I come up to your room?   
Anakin: I need someone to talk to. I’ll bring some video games  
Cody: Of course you can.

Anakin arrives a few minutes later. He looks strangely subdued and down, compared to his usually happy manners. True to his word, he brought Mario Kart. Cody hasn’t played in years and Anakin is equally as bad. The grip of the controller pushes against the bandages, and he hisses with pain every time he moves his fingers, the fresh wounds attempting to scab over.  
“I used to play this with my brothers.” Cody says, dodging an obstacle. “Did you play when you were a kid?”  
“I used to play this with my mum.” Anakin lets out a shaky breath. “It’s her birthday today. She died 3 years ago. I thought I could just get through today. Go to class. Keep it together. But it hurts too much. I miss her. I know you probably don’t understand what it feels like, but I just wanted to be with someone who won’t pry.”  
“I know. I know what it feels like to lose a mother.” Cody whispers, feeling the tears well up again. Anakin looks up, startled. “When I was 13 and my youngest brothers were 2, my mother just left. I know that she is still alive, but she’s dead to me. She abandoned our family. My older brother was always most attached to her. He tried to go after her. It tore my dad apart. He got so distant. Somehow, he came back to us. It was a long 10 years. Now he’s overprotective because he thinks that someone is going to break his heart like she did. Guess he was right.” Cody looks at Anakin, expecting th usual expression. The boo hoo, you’ll be alright when you find love expression. The game is all but forgotten as Anakin lunges in and hugs him. He’s never had a hug like this from someone who isn’t family. Anakin sobs slightly, shaking.  
“I keep thinking about how I should just end it. See my mum again. Everyone keeps saying that it gets better. Does it?” Anakin clings to him, looking for reassurance and comfort. Cody immediately decides that Anakin is an honorary member of the Fetts now. Even his own siblings had trouble opening up.  
“Yes. It gets better. It just takes time and it may hurt but you will survive this.” All the tension drains out of Anakin’s body and he just cries into Cody.  
They sit like that for nearly an hour, Anakin seeking comfort in someone who had been through a similar experience. Cody doesn’t move, trying to provide the help he wished someone had given him. After the hour Anakin had stopped crying and simply curled up on the couch. Cody had gone through this with Kix and Jesse. He leaves the room and fetches the biggest fluffiest blanket and hoodie he can find, dumping them on Anakin and walking into the kitchen. He emerges a couple of minutes later with a pair of mugs of hot chocolate to see Anakin curled up in the hoodie with the blanket spread over the couch. Cody simply shoves him over and tucked under the blanket, offering a mug over to him.   
“This is Hoth Chocolate. Old family recipe.” Anakin sips it and nods in amazement, before pressing a button and pulling Mario Kart back up on the screen. Something is different.  
“What’s ‘Dumbass mode’?” Cody whips his head around and looks at Anakin suspiciously. He flips his mechanical hand and grabs his controller  
“It’s a mode I invented. Basically, all the characters do the stupidest things they can do. It’s hilarious.” A sobbing laugh tilts his tone and Cody is intrigued. If there is even the slightest chance that it might cheer Anakin up, it’s worth a shot.  
“Well go on. Play the damn thing then.” Anakin’s answering grin is almost as big as some of Wolffe’s, minus the tears still rolling down his blotchy cheeks. True to his word, the characters proceed to toss themselves off everything, rolling in every direction with lots of explosions. Wii music plays in the background, making Anakin laugh between his sobs as his character dies yet again. Cody thinks dumbass mode is the best thing to ever exist. It’s just that good.

Rex walks in after his classes finish and spots the controllers and Anakin and plonks himself down on the floor to watch, sending out a text to the family. Within the next couple of hours, the entire Fett clan somehow manages to cram into Rex and Cody’s dorm room. Kix commandeers an armchair, ousting Waxer and Boil with a single glare. The other armchair has Sinker and Boost crammed into it, Wolffe lying on the floor by their feet, and Comet perching on the back, holding on for dear life. Fives, absolutely dying with a hangover, and Echo stole some beanbags from the Common Room, and all the other Fett’s are slung across them in the weirdest positions. Fox is by the stove with Ponds, cooking up a massive batch of Hoth chocolate. Crammed between Bly and Rex, Cody remembers what saved him last time. He’d pulled himself out of his self-pity because his family had needed him. He’ll deal with Obi Wan Kenobi when he is capable to, on his terms, on his grounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is the bit I warned ya'll about ages ago. I am very very sorry. Let me know if you like it. Or hate it.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleepovers do occasionally have consequences.

His phone keeps buzzing and buzzing. Who the hell wants to talk to him this much? So he rolls over, dislodging Rex from his sleeping position on his stomach. The light from his screen nearly blinds him, and he squints to see the messages. 18 texts. 7 from Obi Wan. He ignores those, choosing to not breakdown while surrounded by overprotective family. All the other messages are from Jango. Huh. Not normal. Unless he’s missing something. Cody’s eyes shoot to the bottom of the screen. The 18th of April. 9:42 am. Oh fuck. The fact that he forgot this day is a tribute to how much he is shutting down. He shoves Rex off of his upper legs and kicks Wolffe until he rolls off his feet. Then he stands, and makes his way into the kitchen, where he keeps a Fett’s best friend. An airhorn. Calmly strolling back to the centre of bodies, he plugs his ears and presses the button.  
Most of the Fett’s eyes shoot open immediately. Living with a lot of siblings gets you awake pretty damn fast when a loud noise erupts. 

“Everyone wake the fuck up! We’re late!” A lot of confused faces return his angry look and he’s pretty damn sure that staying up late playing Mario Kart was a bad idea. But it did make him stop hurting, if only for a while. His twin stretches, before climbing to his feet and attempting to snatch the airhorn. Nope.  
“What the fuck? What are we late for?” Rex yawns. Behind him, Jesse tries to push himself to his feet off of Kix’s stomach. His brother grabs his arm and kicks out his legs before shifting him into an armbar. Cody wants to laugh at Jesse’s shocked expression, but they really do need to get moving.  
“Its Hardcase and Tup’s Birthday! We promised Jango that we’d be there by 9 to help.” Raised eyebrows and rolled eyes greet him and he mentally curses the Fett line and their lack of energy before caffeine.  
“Why are we up so early then?” Boil questions, beanbag shifting under his weight as Waxer shoves him off.  
“You shit heads! Its 9:45! We overslept!” That manages to get their attention, as everyone shoots up and looks horrified. Oh, Jango was going to kill them. Panicked chatter bubbles from around the room and Kix strolls over to Cody, Helix in tow. The glare in their eyes is scary. His younger brother and cousin snatch the air horn and put their heads together. Then Cody remembers to block his ears, just as his sibling presses the airhorn. Shit. He’d forgotten how loud that was. They probably woke up everyone in the building. But hey, when you let Fives and Echo borrow an airhorn, expecting them to modify it would usually be considered normal. For the Fett’s at least.  
“Listen the hell up!” Helix doesn’t usually yell, so all attention is drawn to him instantly, as well as the fact that he’s standing on the counter. “We’re late, and Jango is going to skin us alive. So we need to split up. Wolffe, drive Comet, Sinker and Boost. Fox, you drive Ponds and Bly. I’ll drive Waxer and Boil because I’m the least likely to crash the car. Cody, can you cram Rex, Fives, Echo and Kix into that tiny ass car of yours? You better be able to. I don’t give a fuck if any of you speed or take shortcuts, just get the fuck to Jango’s. No one get arrested or crash, because I won’t come bail your ass out for a couple of hours. Everyone got it? Get the hell going!”  
Helix leaps off the counter and grabs Boil and Waxer and bolts through the door. Smart tactic. Wolffe and Fox follow him, having to go by their rooms to grab their keys. A head pops out from the pile of blankets on the couch and blinks softly. Damn. Cody had forgotten that Anakin was here. After the whole conversation about losing parents and trust in those they love, Cody had practically adopted him into the Fetts. Apparently, he had slept over. With the worst case of bed head that he’s ever seen in his whole life, Anakin crawls out from under the blankets and looks at the absolute mess surrounding him.

“What did I miss? It looks like a damn bomb went off in here.”  
“Don’t have time to explain. Rex will walk you to your room, then we have got to run, or my dad will absolutely lose it and give us the military lecture again.” He couldn’t deal with being so close to Obi Wan’s room. Not after what he did.  
“You reckon?” Rex had finally re-emerged as Cody was talking, different jeans and a hoodie on. Blue with the republic logo. Joy. He shoves Anakin at his brother then darts into his room. 

When he shoots out of his room precious minutes later, he grabs a hairbrush and whips it through his curls, not caring about his appearance anymore, but wincing as it somehow manages to snag on every single knot and tangle. Damn those Fett genes. Some of his siblings had pin straight, perfect hair. Why did he have to miss out on that? He bolts for the door and grabs his phone and keys then turns and races back to his bedroom to grab the pair of wrapped presents before slamming the door and hopping down the hallway with one shoe on his foot trying to tie it  
The car park near the dorms holds Cody’s shitty old car. Admittedly, it has extra seats in the back, so he can fit in 6 people, or 8 with them squeezing up. That’s the only reason he still has it. Otherwise he would’ve gotten rid of the ancient thing. But Jango had given it to him as a Christmas present. And his brothers had christened it the Tank. So he kept it. 

Kix and Echo are standing next to it, looking both tired and stressed. Somehow Fives, still having the worst headache, and Jesse are on the roof rack of the car. He’s is half tempted to drive off with them still on top. He unlocks the car and climbs into the driver’s seat. Kix climbs into the passenger’s side and flips off Rex, as he sprints toward the car. Fives and Echo leap into the back, Fives immediately wincing in pain, and Jesse makes sure to sit behind Kix and kick his seat. Without a single word, the medical student produces a scalpel from somewhere in his jacket and holds it up in the air threateningly. Jesse pales at the very sight of it and tucks his feet up onto the seat hurriedly. Rex snickers as he jumps into the centre seat. Cody glances backwards to check seatbelts, then he floors it and races out of the small car park, nearly crashing into Wolffe’s car, neatly ignoring the mass of rude gestures pointed at him from the inside. His passengers have no such concerns and point and yell back. Then he races for freedom and more importantly, coffee. 

After some very spectacular incidents including Hardcase and coffee, Jango just straight up banned it from his house. Not only no coffee made in the house, but no coffee within the property grounds. Which means that if he’s going to deal with his family’s bullshit and try to hide the gaping hole in his chest for a whole day, he’s going to need coffee.  
“McDonalds!” Jesse yells from the back and Fives joins in with him, a lot quieter.  
“McDonalds! McDonalds! McDonalds! McDonalds!” Cody pulls into the drive through and his brothers start cheering. He pulls up to the orders window and checks the menu before smirking and ordering his favourite. 

“One black coffee.” A tap on his shoulder snatches his attention away from the order and he turn to Kix, the scalpel in his brothers’ hand having made a reappearance. “Could you please make that three black coffees actually.” His brother smiles widely and tucks the scalpel back into his jacket. Shit. What gave people the impression that medics were kind? The ones in his family were fucking demons. Jeez. If Cody dies and goes to hospital, and sees he’s being treated by family, he’d just stand up and walk out of there. Cody reaches through the drive through window and pays, then grabs the coffee. They smell heavenly. He pulls one out of the cardboard container and sips on it. Energy begins to course through his system. Absolutely perfect. His little brother snatches the other two and begins chugs them both.

“Holy shit guys! Comet says that Wolffe got pulled over!” Jesse yells, waving his phone around. Of course, Wolffe would get pulled over the one time he was told not to. He once would’ve complained about it to Obi. He would’ve nodded and said that Anakin was just like this and he had the same problems.   
“Police?” Rex doesn’t sound sad or worried. On the contrary, his grin has grown to ungodly levels at the thought of his cousins getting in trouble.  
“The campus security. Speeding in a restricted area or some shit like that.” Echo puts in his bet for Guess Why Wolffe Got Pulled Over. Oh boy. Echo probably just won with that guess.  
“I have no idea.” Fives sounds resigned to losing. With Wolffe, it’s a matter of Police or Campus Security. Those are his most argues with authority figures. But when it comes to why he got pulled over, it could be anything from speeding to drunken driving to going around a roundabout 10 times with all the windows down and a drunken Boost and Sinker half out of them. Stuff like that makes it a miracle that he hasn’t lost his licence by now.  
“It’s a boring one. His taillight was out. The security guy pulled him over to let him know.” Jesse seems to radiate disappointment when he announces that, and sinks down in his seat.   
“What’s the time Kix?” If its later than 10:10, then Dad is going to be pissed off. Part of the military training that he taught included being on time and politeness apparently.   
“10:05. We have time.” Kix sounds supremely confident. Cody isn’t sure if they’ll get there in time. He really wishes that he had the brains to set an alarm. Damn you former versions of him. Argh. He hasn’t had enough coffee to deal with that idea. Or even with the fact that he still has to deal with Obi Wan and his knuckles are just scabbing over. He’ll deal with that particular burning dumpster fire of shit later. They’re 4 minutes from the Fett house. That’s if there isn’t a shit ton of traffic.   
As if jinxing himself, he turns the corner onto an intersection and his jaw drops. Bumper to bumper traffic lines the entire crossover. For fucks sake.

“Kix, please take a photo for an alibi.” Rex leans over the seat and shoves at Kix’s shoulder. The medic snaps a photo on his phone then slides up to the Fett Clan Jnr GC.  
“Everyone is stuck in this mess. Bly says that their car is right up the front. Waxer’s is just about at the same place. The Wolfpack of idiots is around 7 minutes behind us. Wolffe just pulled into McDonalds and Comet is bitching about it.” Kix reports in a clinically detached tone. Before he can reply, Cody’s phone pings on the dashboard and everyone in the car goes silent, watching the phone as if it will explode on a moments notice. Jesse turns to Fives and smirks.  
“5 bucks that its Obi Wan wanting him back.” Shit. Jesse did never know when to stop being an asshole. His hands tighten on the wheel and his freshly scabbed knuckles start to peel off from the pressure. Rex whispers to Kix and Kix slides him something, face frozen in a falsely calm expression. That indicates that he’s about to lose his shit at his twin.   
“Fuck!” Jesse’s shout makes Cody startle. He turns and sees Jesse’s seat impaled with a scalpel, mere centimetres away from his balls. Normally he would be pissed off that someone just stabbed his car. But in this case, he doesn’t. That scalpel would be what got passed between his brothers. Serves Jesse right. 

The traffic opens up, and Cody darts for the opening. The car is strangely silent for the first time in almost forever. He drives as fast as he can until he has to stop in order not to crash into another car. Kix grabs his shoulder in a wrenching grip.  
“Pull the fuck over.” His voice is a low snarl. Irrational panic and an urge to run races through him as he steers the car over to the emergency stop area. Kix opens his door and storms around to Cody’s side and yanks open his door. 

“Get out. I’m driving. You are not going to have a freak out about your ex-boyfriend while driving a car with most of your brothers in it. So, get in the damn passenger’s side and let me drive. Please Cody. Please.” His brother sounds surprisingly worried. It’s a scary change from his usual calm or stressed modes. His brother sounds scared of him or scared for him.  
His body acts on reflex, unbuckling the seatbelt and walking around the car to get to the passenger’s side. Once he’s there and buckled in, Kix visibly relaxes and merges back onto the road. Shit. He must have been bad if he scared Kix. A hand gently taps his arm. He turns to see Jesse, looking like he’s seen a ghost.  
“I’m sorry Codes. That joke about Obi Wan. It was uncalled for and really a dick move. You don’t have to forgive me. I wouldn’t.” Cody can count the amount of times that Jesse has apologised on one hand. He even used Cody’s old nickname that Boba gave him.  
“Its OK Jesse. I’m sorry I scared you guys. I wanted to put all my emotional shit behind me for one day and just be around my family. I wasn’t thinking straight.” He hangs his head and waits for his siblings to yell at him. To rage. It would be better than this silence. 

“Literally nothing about you is straight Cody.” Rex somehow manages to both keep a straight face and not burst out laughing while talking. Fives snickers and nudges Jesse, who’s face splits into a smile slowly. Echo passes his phone to him.   
“Fett selfie.” Cody rolls his eyes at his brothers’ ridiculous tradition. Then he raises the camera and smiles properly. He knows that he can’t put off dealing with Obi forever. But he can put it off for a while longer. Or he could just sic his family on him. Or he could take a deep breath, count to ten and focus on what is good. He has his family, his idiotic family, who love him even when he yells, even when he tries to hide his true feelings. He has a friend in Anakin, who had been through a similar experience with both love and family. He has something to focus on and something to look forward to. It’s his brother’s birthday. And he will not make it a day of pain. Cody swears that he will tell Obi Wan how he feels by this time next week.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why is it when the Fett family has a birthday, they end up with glitter and blood everywhere?

There it is. Jango had had a small flat when Cody and Rex were babies. But when Fives and Echo and Kix and Jesse appeared, he found a 5-bedroom multi-level house. It was perfect for their family. A set of twins in each room, and Boba in another. When Hardcase and Tup had been born, they had to share with Boba. It was no surprise that he moved out soon after, going to the other side of the country. And then everyone slowly left, going to university. Until it was just Hardcase, Tup and Jango. Even in the winter months there was always a That was why everyone went there to celebrate. The pool was definitely an incentive.  
As they drive up, they can see Jango, standing on the driveway. He definitely doesn’t look happy. Two carloads of reprimanded nephews stand behind him. Shit. They were in such deep unending shit. Kix pulls the car up and parks it. All of them sit there awkwardly. Jango raises his eyebrows and points to them and then to the ground outside. Cody thinks that the message is pretty clear. Get out of the car. Now. After his breakdown on the road, he’s not sure he can handle another relative being disappointed in him.

Cody grits his teeth and gets out of the car. All of his brothers wait until he’s standing in front of Jango before moving. Scaredy Cats.  
“Should I even bother asking where you’ve been?” Jango’s tone is deceptively neutral. The scary flat tone he uses when someone is in trouble. Cody hears Rex swallow loudly behind him and nearly turns to smack him into space.  
“Sorry. Slept in and there was lots of traffic.” He’s pretty sure his voice trembles slightly. There is a reason he likes to steer clear of his dad’s bad side. Usually he just watches as his brothers get scolded. His dad isn’t angry though. He just seems disappointed and slightly worried.  
“Yeah. These guys told me the same.” Jango gestures over his shoulder to the collected family, his hair falling into his face. “Everyone go round to the back. Help Tup and Hardcase set up.” Everyone files past him and to the fence gate, racing to escape the disappointed glare. Cody tries to step past but a firm hand grabs his shoulder. “Rex and Kix told me everything that’s happened. Are you sure you’re up to this? Tell the truth.”=  
“No. I’m not sure. But I want to be here for my brothers. Please.” Cody controls his breath, making them as shallow as possible, trying to stop the tremble in his fingers. Jango surveys him and then nods. He takes that as a sign of approval and moves past his dad and to the gate.

It’s absolute chaos inside. Waxer and Boil are trying and failing to set up a table, Fox and Ponds are sneaking up on Bly to push him in the pool. Fucking family. He strolls over to the present table and puts the two small presents on it. A laugh from nearby has him throwing himself to the ground to avoid the soccer ball that Rex and Jesse somehow found and decided to punt it at his head. He flips them off and walks inside, beginning to put the food on trays.

When he finally comes out, he sees that most of the family has arrived. Its calm on one side. Alpha, Sifo and Plo are leaning against one fence chatting, probably about troublesome children. Cut is with his son Jek, who is sitting on his father’s shoulder, and his wife Suu, who is stopping Shaeeah from hitting Jek. Jango is ruffling Tup’s shoulder length hair. 

Then, in absolute contrast, the other side has Fox and Ponds pushing Bly into the pool, Waxer and Boil trying to do tricks on the trampoline, Fives and Jesse fiddling with something that looks an awful lot like a glitter bomb. Of fucking course. Absolute chaos. He wonders if Hunt gave it to them, the stereotypical mad scientist being the main source of any glitter or confetti weapons used on campus. He’d actually made a business out of it, selling to both Independent and Separatist Universities. Pretty smart. Fives and Echo had been kicking themselves for not thinking of that earlier.

The said glitter bomb arcs through the air and impacts on the back of Hardcase’s head. Oh fuck.  
“I am going to kill you!” Hardcase shrieks, shaking his head madly, trying to free the glitter. Everyone stops to watch the coming conflict, falling silent in anticipation. A feline laugh arcs above the sudden silence and heads turn to a figure under the shadows of a tree, leaning on the fence. Cody tenses as Jango reaches for a weapon. His fingers brush thin air as he realises that he confiscated anything that could be used as a weapon. Of course that’s his Dad’s instinct. Bloody military.

“Declare yourself.” Jango practically growls, pushing himself off the bench and curling his hands into half formed fists.   
“Well well well Jango. Aren’t you going to invite me in?” A lilting amused voice drifts from the figure and they step into the light. A round face with a pin straight dark brown short braid over a leather jacket clad shoulder. High black jeans, tucked in band T-shirt and heavy boots, holding two gift bags. Probably has multiple weapons on her. Undeniably Zam Wesell. A sigh of relief seems to come from the collective group and they all smile, chatter breaking out again. Jango rushes forward and picks up his petite twin sister and swings her around in the air.

“Zam! I wasn’t sure if you could make it!” Jango says, bursting with happiness. They were always the most alike out of all the Fett’s. Maybe due to the fact that they’re twins, or maybe due to the fact that they both are absolutely mad. She has a wife and no kids, just a bunch of pets. Jango has 9 kids and no pets.   
“Neither was I. Then the idiots at head office sent me on a job near here. Couldn’t resist popping by.” Her voice squeaks as Jango hugs her tighter. Cody isn’t quite sure what his Aunt does. As the only girl in her generation of family, she was discouraged from joining the army. So, she just turned around and joined some sort of spy or intelligence agency. No one knows the specifics of her job. But it involves a lot of sneaking around. She pulls apart Jango’s arms, kicks his legs out and strolls towards her favourite nephews.

“Well. You’re all here, minus Boba. Jesse, still causing trouble and Kix, still being ruthless. Fives and Echo, The Trouble Twins. Living up to that nickname? Have a hangover Fives? Rex, taller than me and Cody, still can’t tame his hair.” She leans closer to him and lowers her voice. “If you want it to stop curling into knots, buy a detangling spray. Worth it.” She moves away from him and towards Tup and Hardcase. “The birthday boys. Nice hair Tup! Love the glitter Hardcase. I hope you enjoy the presents I got for you. And before you ask Jango, it isn’t missile launchers, handguns, knives, how to make a Molotov cocktail books, grenades or anything good. That was one time! You always spoil my fun. Idiot brothers, right?” She spins to the assembled Fett’s and holds her hands into a shrug. Almost everyone nods. Zam has 5 brothers, and she’s the only girl. Somehow most of the younger generation was boys. Cody has no idea how that managed to happen. Very unlucky for the parents. Having to deal with the boys wanting to beat the shit out of each other all the time would explain the abundance of grey hairs. It’s almost hilarious how their family just wants to fight each other. 

“Get the fuck off!” Cody hears Jesse’s familiar yell and mentally curses his brother. He turns around and sees Jesse being held in a headlock by Sinker. Fucks sake. Sinker just got here, and he feels the need to tackle Jesse to the ground and pin him in a headlock. Damn cousins. Rex moves to intervene and leaps backwards when Sinker bares his teeth and growls at him.  
“Wolffe come get your little shit of a brother!” Rex shouts and Jango whips his head around to glare at him. Ah. That’s right, Jango absolutely hated them swearing. Wolffe simply turns and flips Rex off. Plo has a long-suffering expression that could probably be translated to why the hell did I have kids.  
“Get off him Sinker.” Plo says, voice twitching out of his usual grumble into a sort of laugh. Sinker doesn’t move, just lies on Jesse, causing him to grunt and try push himself out from under him. Then Zam whistles loudly and whips a small knife out of a holster on her thigh.

“If you get off him, I might let you have the knife for 5 minutes. Deal?” She flips the knife around before stabbing it into the wooden table, smirking at the horrified expressions around her, flipping her braid back over her shoulder.   
“I thought that you said you declared all your weapons.” Jango grinds out from gritted teeth. Zam shrugs neatly as Sinker moves faster than should be possible, releasing Jesse in one single move and racing to where she sits. He reaches for the knife, but she yanks it out of the table and points it at her nephew.   
“Not so fast kid, you don’t get it just like that. You’re going to have to arm wrestle for it.” She says smugly, placing her arm on the table. Sinker gulps slightly and goes to turn, but Wolffe is there, standing behind him, arms crossed, shit eating grin plastered on his face. Cody would feel sorry for his cousin, but he brought this on his own head. Zam remains deadly still, lazily smiling. Her brother’s gather around her as Sinker puts his hand on the table slowly. Plo places his hand on Sinker’s shoulder and squeezes gently.  
“Do go easy on him Zam. Please don’t break his hand. Or his arm.” Plo doesn’t sound too worried at the fact that his little sister, who is trained in over 10 forms of hand to hand combat, is going to arm wrestle his son, who has trained in only one form of combat. He seems pretty unconcerned honestly. Cody isn’t extremely worried at the thought of Sinker getting a broken hand. Probably deserves it.  
“Why would you assume that I wouldn’t go easy on him? I wouldn’t hurt my nephew. Plus, if I broke his hand, you would probably attempt to wrestle me.” She smiles widely, taking Sinkers hand.  
“Yes. I probably would. Remember that time when you were in 3rd grade and that asshole started teasing you about your hair?” Plo grins at her, sombre expression lifting.  
“Oh my god. That was so good. You threw the first punch; I threw the last. Jango was trying to kick that guy in the nose. We got suspended for 2 weeks after that!” Zam laughs.  
“I still maintain that he hit himself in the nose.” Jango interrupts, turning to face Zam and shaking his finger in her face. Cody isn’t in the least surprised when Zam shoots forward, teeth snapping as she lunges for his finger. Jango manages to pull back in time, as her teeth click millimetres away from his finger. Cody would laugh at the fact that his father looks identical to the shocked Pikachu GIF. If he had gotten a video of that moment, he would’ve sent it to Boba. His older brother would have loved to see this. The said brother was on the other side of the country, in a good university. He had sent over a present and called Tup and Hardcase to tell them Happy Birthday.  
“Are you going to stop playing around and beat my nephew in an arm wrestle or not?” Alpha leans forward and places his palms on the table. Zam turns to him and shows her teeth in a grin that would make an average man scared for their life. Alpha is fully unperturbed by his little sister’s antics.   
“I’m getting to it Alpha. Calm down. Has having kids made your temper grow even shorter as well as making your hair greyer?” She grins manically and turns to Sinker, clasping his hand tighter. “Care to referee Cody?” Ignoring his startled expression, she smiles softly. “You were always trustworthy Cody. You never tell Jango when I forgot to drop my weapons at the door.” She deftly dodges Jango’s shocked expression and glare, nodding at him. “Ready when you are.”  
“Both ready?” Cody asks. Both of the contestant’s nod, Zam confidently and Sinker worriedly. “OK. Elbows on the table. 3, 2, 1 go!” Sinker immediately pushes against Zam as she relaxes, keeping her hand perfectly upright. He tosses his weight into it and Cody recognises Zam’s grin. It’s the one she gives when she knows that she has her opponents by the balls. Its similar to Kix’s murder grin. The next time that Sinker puts all his weight into pushing against Zam’s hand, she simply presses back, slamming his hand down to the table and pulling her knife out of the wood. She flips it dramatically before going to shove it back into a sheath on her thigh. 

“No.” Jango grabs her hand halfway through the fluid motion and squeezes at her wrist until she drops the knife. He steps forward, placing his heavy boot on it. She looks down at the boot and then rolls her eyes.  
“Party pooper.” He bends down to pick up the knife and ignores the small kick she half-heartedly aims at his shin. Cody has to smile. His father and his aunt interact the same way that he and Rex do. Or Echo and Fives.

Once Sinker has been humiliated, everyone moves back to what they were doing, a large portion of the younger Fett’s tossing themselves in the pool. Cody moves back to the tree and sits, back against it. He pulls out his phone. 7 new messages from Obi Wan. He wants to open them, he really does. He’s just not sure if he can deal with what they say.  
“What are you doing?” He drops his phone immediately and on reflex. Zam is leaning against the tree, lemonade in hand.  
“Nothing.” Cody tries to act natural, relaxing and forcing himself to smile at his aunt.  
“Mind if I sit?” 

“I don’t mind.” Zam sits down next to him and sips at her drink. They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, then she fixes her best questioning expression and turns to face him.  
“Does Fives have a girlfriend? He’s staring at his phone with a sappy expression. I’m getting embarrassed for him and I don’t even know what he’s doing.”  
“He really is embarrassing.” Cody says, sorrow beginning to rise once the talk of relationships occurs.  
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Her tone is calm, but an undercurrent of worry lies beneath the surface. He knows that tone. He uses it when he wants Tup or Echo or any of his brothers to tell him something.  
“It’s been a rough couple of days.” Cody says softly, attempting to avoid her question.

“Want to talk about it?” Zam asks. Cody doesn’t really know yet. He wants to trust her. “I saw your knuckles when you were refereeing. They look pretty bad. Did Kix check them out?” He nods and she continues. “Good. I’m scared of him. He’s worse than the medics where I work. One of them literally cuffed me to the hospital bed when I tried to leave.” Cody lets out a small laugh at the thought of a spy having to be cuffed in order to get her to stay in bed. She smiles at him. “How did you do that to your knuckles? You really don’t have to tell me.”

“Beat the shit out of a heavy boxing bag without strapping my knuckles.” He states, brushing a hand over his bandaged hand.  
“Shit Cody. Why?” She leans forward, her expression full of concern.  
“My boyfriend cheated on me.” Cody whispers. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and opens up the video in the Group Chat. She watches it, not moving, then sighs once its done.  
“Damn.”  
“Yeah. I don’t know why. I thought he loved me. I loved him.” Cody sighs, taking the phone back and turning it off. Zam leans back.

“Hey Cody. Did I ever tell you how Cordé and I met?” At Cody’s shake of his head, she smiles. “You remember how I said that one of the medics cuffed me to the hospital bed? That was Cordé. She was assigned to look after me because I would hide in the ceiling vents to avoid the medics. She caught me halfway through going into the vents and tasered me. Then she dragged me back to the bed and cuffed my arm to the bar. So, they kept assigning me to her and eventually I got out of the cuffs and went for the vents. Only to find that she had put a motion sensor in there. It hit me with a fricking tranquiliser dart. We kept playing our game of Cat and Mouse for about a year. I liked her but wasn’t sure if she felt the same. Then we were assigned to a hostage mission together. I got the hostages out and we were running, and someone tried to shoot her. I jumped in front of her. Then I just kept fighting. Tried to protect her as well as I could. Eventually she tackled me and tried to at least give me some pain killers. I kept trying to stand and fight. She pinned me down, kissed me and told me to sit the hell down. I was stunned. She took my gun and proceeded to shoot at our attackers until my pain killers kicked in. Then we got evac. We didn’t really speak of that for a while, until I got carted into the med bay with a knife in my thigh. She patched me up and then sat and talked to me. Cordé asked me why I took the bullet. My answer was that it was better I got hurt than she did. Would you have taken a bullet for your boyfriend?” Cody runs his fingers through his hair softly. He doesn’t know.

“That seems a bit drastic Auntie.” Cody raises his eyebrows. Zam shrugs and lies on her back, placing her empty glass to one side. He thinks back to the first time he met Obi Wan. “I did take a glitter bomb for him once.” Zam shoots up, shocked.  
“Really? You have to tell me the whole story. Who broke the Fett Code?”  
“Technically no one did. Obi and I were forced to go to the Games Club Fives and Echo run. We did a Just Dance duet and Echo recruited one of his friends, Hunt, to throw a glitter bomb at us. I jumped on Obi and made sure he was mostly out of the way. I got them back though. Hunt is the glitter and confetti maniac on campus. He made the glitter bomb that they used on Hardcase today.” He finishes the story and turns to his Aunt, who is rolling around on her back shaking with laughter.  
“Fucking glitter bombs!” She wheezes between her laughs.

“I was picking glitter out of my hair for weeks!” Cody can’t help but laugh at her antics. It takes quite the while for her to calm down enough to speak.  
“I need to get my hands on one of those glitter bombs.” She gives Cody a look of mild confusion. “If you took a glitter bomb for him, why would he cheat on you?”  
“I don’t know. Don’t want to know.”  
“Are you scared of what you’ll find? Go to the source of the problem. Ask the girl he was with. That might be a good place to start.” She’s right. He should go and ask Satine. “You can do that later Cody. Go annoy your brothers. Rex is just sitting in the pool on a float. Go tip it or something.” He nods and surges forward and hugs her tightly.   
“Thank you Zam.” She pulls back from him and smiles.  
“Any time you need relationship advice from a lesbian who is always confused, I’m always here to help. I still don’t understand the male mind though.” Cody turns and races for the house.

He emerges within a few minutes in bathers and bolts for the pool, flipping Rex’s float and shoving his brother into the pool. Zam is joined by Jango under the tree. They sit in a comfortable silence, watching the kids. Eventually Zam speaks.  
“He’s a good kid.”  
“Yeah. I’m scared that he’ll get his heart broken.” His voice hitches slightly and Zam turns to him.  
“Oh Jango. Just because you got your heart broken doesn’t mean that Cody will go down the same path. I think that the boy he likes will realise his mistake and decide to change.” She smiles softly as she speaks.  
“What if he doesn’t? What if he just breaks Cody’s heart?” Zam begins to play with Jango’s curls  
“Then he’ll have 4 ex-military uncles, 15 cousins, 8 siblings, you and me lining up to kill him. Let Cody make his own decisions. He needs you to trust him.” They sit there for a few more minutes, then embrace and Zam leaves as quickly as she arrived. Cody notices her go and decides to follow her advice. After he shoves Fox in the pool of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My personal take on Zam is that she is lesbian and in love with Corde. If you don't like it, sorry.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody knows that his ex boyfriend wouldn't have cheated on him. He needs answers

After Zam leaves, Cody thinks about what his Aunt said. She was right. To figure out why Obi Wan did what he did he would have to go and ask Satine Kryze. That whole train of thought is instantly derailed when Wolffe leaps in the pool behind him, smacking a pool volleyball at the back of hiss head. The net is dangling, and the Fett kids instantly separate into teams to play the craziest pool volleyball game ever.  
The party wraps up at about 5pm. Family trickles home or back to the University, but Jango’s sons are forced to help pack up. Hardcase is hyper, having had way too much sugar. Tup is an absolute contrast, calmly packing up food and putting it away. There seems to be something the same in any Fett twins. One is hyper and reckless and the other is just done with them and survives on a diet of only black coffee. It’s certainly the case with him and Rex. Or Kix and Jesse. That isn’t the case with Sinker and Boost though. Both of his cousins are the hyperactive ones and Wolffe and Comet have to keep them in line.   
Once everything is packed, Cody says goodbye to his dad and little brothers. Then Kix commandeers the driver’s seat and kicks Cody into the back with Rex. Rex, absolutely exhausted, keeps falling asleep then jolting back to awareness. He eventually curls up, having used all of his energy, on Cody’s shoulder and naps. Jesse is similarly asleep; Fives and Jesse have produced Uno cards from somewhere and appear to be battling viciously. Echo wins first, slamming Fives with multiple plus fours. His groan and quiet swearing are quite amusing.

“Can I play?” Cody asks, leaning over the seat. He gently moves Rex onto a spare blanket from the seat and slides to the side.  
“Sure.” Echo says, whipping the cards into one hand and shuffling like a professional. He deals, putting Cody’s cards on the armrest. Cody snatches them and surveys his hand. Pretty good. A plus two, two reverses, a colour change and a plus four. Dang. Was Echo trying to shuffle these?   
Fives starts, placing a yellow 2 on the pile. Cody puts down a yellow, as does Echo. Then Fives puts down a plus two, grin growing. Cody almost tosses his plus two onto the pile. Echo smirks, placing his skip card onto the pile. Fives lets out a choking sound, tossing another plus two onto the stack of doom. Cody puts down a reverse and watches Fives die inside.  
“Shit. You guys wouldn’t even let me make you pick up!” He grumbles, sorting out 6 cards. From his expression, they really aren’t good cards. Echo leans over and puts down a red. Cody doesn’t have any reds. He tosses the colour change onto the pile.  
“Green.” Cody says. Both of his brother’s faces light up in a scary synchronisation. Fives and Echo both put down greens, demon grins growing. Cody decides to cut his losses and just pick up. Its just a number card. Damn it. Fives places a green and Echo quickly puts a green reverse on the pile. Fives groans and places another green. Cody chooses to win now. He slams down a plus four.  
“Blue.” He says triumphantly. Echo smirks, placing another plus four onto the pile. Shit. Fives looks stressed, tossing a skip. Back to Cody. His only defence now is his reverse. The eight cards to pick up goes back to Fives. His face falls and he begin to pick up the cards.  
“Guys. We’re back at Uni.” Kix interrupts, leaning back to face them. He scans the cards. “Who’s winning? Who’s losing?”  
“Well Fives is definitely losing.” Echo says, trying and failing to conceal a laugh. Fives scowls.  
“It’s not my fault that Echo dealt me a shit hand!” He protests. Echo snorts and tries to cover it up with a horribly fake cough. Fives really doesn’t buy it, glaring.   
“Well. Shall we get the sleepy idiots out of the car and to the dorms?” Kix says, grabbing the door and opening it. Fives and Echo get out obediently, crossing to the other side to haul Jesse out. Cody grabs Rex and undoes his seatbelt, helping him out of the car. Somehow, he manages to stay asleep while being pulled out of a car. He drags his brother through the dorms and helps him up the stairs.  
Once they get to the dorm, he unlocks it, pushing Rex through the doors and onto his mattress. Cody dumps the keys to the car on the table, snatches Rex’s bike key and walks back into the corridor, neatly locking the door behind him. Rex’s bike is around here somewhere. Aha. Its chained to one of the bike racks. Cody picks the lock and jumps onto it. He has to follow Zam’s advice. He needs to go ask.

The Independent University is gorgeous at night. The grounds, perfectly manicured, frame the mainly glass and metal campus. He locks up the bike on the bike racks. The Mandalore Dorms are surprisingly quiet, unusual for a Sunday night on any Campus. Republic is a madhouse on the weekend. He goes to touch the buzzer and the door swings open to reveal three Mandalorian students. The first two wear the red slash insignia of Death Watch, a small group of students from military backgrounds, who make it their business to protect their own. The third is a girl with a long red braid and a frustrated expression. She plays on the Nite Owls, as does the one with spiky purple hair. He thinks the redhead might be their captain. She has the aggressive look of a person who is usually listened to by those around her.  
“Who the fuck are you? What in the actual fuck do you want at this time?” She spits. He nearly turns and bolts away from them, but he has to know the truth.  
“My name is Cody. I need to speak with Satine Kryze.” He feels like he’s being assessed. The girl’s shrewd expression and unflinching stance show that she has done this before. Intimidate others.  
“She’s asleep. Or fucking some random guy. I don’t particularly care for what my sister does at night.” She sneers, going to turn, waving her hand at the other students.  
“It’s about Obi Wan Kenobi.” She whips around, eyes going wide, and she steps towards him calmly, almost predatory. A light flicks on behind her and she curses, low and vicious. Then she flies at Cody and knocks him backwards into the bed of roses. They roll and he can feel every thorn tearing his skin. Within seconds, he can fully understand her reasoning.  
“What on Earth is all this fuss? For heaven’s sake, I thought that my sister’s little pets could do their jobs properly! Well evidently not.” A voice, fully awake and packed with bitterness, snaps at the poor students. He can feel the girl below him tensing, as if ready to fight.  
“We’re really sorry Satine. I thought I heard something, and I convinced Rook to open the doors.” The buff blond boy says. His partner nods quickly.  
“Don’t do it again without my express permission Saxon. I swear that you military brats are so damn stupid sometimes. I don’t know why I let that little bitch convince me into this.” Her ranting voice cuts off as the doors slide shut behind them. The girl underneath him shoves her knee into his stomach and pushes him off to the side. She rolls onto her knees and dusts the dirt and leaves off of her pyjamas. Her sharp face is frozen into a scared snarl.  
“That is the person you came to speak to. I’m guessing that you don’t want to do that anymore.” She grabs her pants and pulls the leg up and assesses the damage to her skin. Scratches mar the pale flesh, bruises dotted around the edges of her legs. Bruises from soccer. He thinks.  
“Not particularly, no.”  
“That ranting bitch in there is my sister. I’m Bo-Katan. Same mother, different father. You are Cody? Obi Wan’s boyfriend?”  
“Ex-boyfriend. I wanted to speak to Satine about why she kissed Obi.” Bo-Katan snorts, running her arm over her shoulder.  
“Isn’t it obvious?” His expression is bewilderment and she roll her eyes in exasperation. “Jeez. Republic meatheads. I thought that your male soccer players were bad. The girls at least have brains and tactics. My sister is jealous. She loved Obi Wan and couldn’t cope when he broke up with her. When she found out about you and him, she lost her shit. Broke a bunch of stuff. Then she figured that if she couldn’t be happy, then Obi Wan couldn’t. So, she probably got him drunk on purpose and did that in the hopes that it would break you guys up. Guess she succeeded.” Bo-Katan uses her long nails to dig out a thorn in her palm, then looks up at him, as if he might break from that news. He can’t feel his legs. They crumple out from under him and he just sits on the cold ground. A rose falls next to him, spilling its petals like drops of blood.  
“Sorry. I shouldn’t be so harsh. I need to work on that.” She whispers softly. The blood welling up in the cuts all over her arms looks like the small freckles that dot her skin. Her sister really doesn’t deserve her. He reaches into his hoodie and pulls out the few Band-Aids he keeps in all of his clothes. Having the Fett’s for family and Anakin, Ahsoka and Hunt for friends had taught him to always have emergency Band-Aids. He offers it to Bo-Katan, and she looks at him with a surprised expression. Like no one has every cared for her when she’s in pain. She takes it gingerly, unwrapping it and sticking it on one of her many cuts across her leg.  
“Thank you for telling me. Can I call you Bo?” Cody says, expecting a no. She rolls her eyes and sticks another Band-Aid on with a viciousness.  
“No. You can’t call me Bo. No one can.” She hisses as she wrestles with a thorn embedded in her shoulder. Cody leans over to her, ignoring her shocked expression, and pulls the thorn out swiftly. He tears open another Band-Aid and sticks it over the hole, stopping the drips of blood.   
“There.” He sighs, pulling his hoodie tightly around him, ignoring the cold air.  
“Thanks.” She gives him a vaguely suspicious look. “Why do you have so many Band-Aids?”   
“I’m a Fett. In my family, there’s a high chance that someone is going to do something really stupid and need a Band-Aid to stop them from bleeding on my good clothes.” Cody deadpans. Bo-Katan coughs out a laugh and smiles softly.  
“Well you dated Obi Wan, so you must have had to deal with his nutty friends.” She says drolly. Her eyes convey her slight sarcastic humour. To be fair, it would be hard to not be sarcastic with Anakin and Ahsoka.  
“Ahsoka and Anakin aren’t idiots, they’re actually very smart. They don’t like to show it.” He protests. Bo-Katan nods.  
“Never said they weren’t smart, just that they were nuts. You’ve got to admit that.” He does. They aren’t dumb, simply crazy.  
“There not just smart, they use that for things that aren’t traditional use of brains.”  
“Didn’t they blow up half of a Republic science lab last month?” She retorts, sticking on the last Band-Aid.  
“Yeah. Obi nearly had a heart attack.” Cody pauses, looking at the soil, trying to stop the well of tears. Just as they peak, about to fall free, a hand touches his shoulder. Bo-Katan had moved across and put a soft hand on his shoulder. Her green eyes glow with understanding. She sits down next to him, leaning against the concrete wall. Her hand moves around his back and he just leans into the touch. She tenses, then relaxes softly. Its not bad. For a Mandolore student, she actually seems to be kind of nice. She and Ahsoka would get along well. Despite the fact she’s comforting him, she keeps putting on Band-Aids.  
Once they both feel OK again, Cody stands and offers Bo-Katan his hand. She ignores it and almost twirls to her feet. The Band-Aids cover her arms and legs and a single one sits on her cheek. It sticks out against her freckly face. She steps into the light, drawing his attention to a scar that slashes above her right eyebrow, nearly meeting the brow. It would’ve hurt to get that  
“Looking at something Fett? I’m aromantic and very uninterested.”   
“I’m very very gay.” He says, almost laughing. She smiles softly.  
“I’m sorry about Obi Wan Kenobi. If he can’t see that you love him deeply, then it’s his problem. If you want anymore information, you can call me.” She grabs his phone and types it in, saving it under an owl emoji. It matches her theme. The NIte Owl.   
A siren distracts him from the phone, and he turns to see a fire fighting truck zoom past. From the direction, its either heading for Separatist University, or Republic. Shit. Cody turns to Bo-Katan, but she’s feeling the smooth concrete wall.   
“I really should go. There’s a chance that my brothers are burning down the university.”  
“Go. Have fun.” She twirls, finding a handhold in the wall and clinging to it, scaling the almost smooth wall like a spider. About two thirds of the way up, she drops one hand off and rummages in a pocket, pulling out a slim knife. She jams it into the frame and uses it to push up the window. Once its fully open, she twirls back to face him, mock saluting before diving through the window. Huh. Crazy Mando.  
His phone buzzes, causing him to check it. There’s a lot of messages. An incoming call pops up. Wolffe. Cody answers.  
“Hi Wolffe.”  
“Shit Codes. Are you at Republic University? Cause if you’re not, you might want to get over there.” His cousin sounds strangely fearful. Compared to his usually calm or psycho attitude, it’s a scary change. He hangs up and runs towards Rex’s bike, scared about his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you are fans of Haiykuu, please go read Kodokuna kokoro


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Republic is in flames.

The way to Republic University is slightly hilly, eventually flattening out just before the soccer pitches. Everywhere is crowded, people standing all over the fields. The sky is glowing, despite the fact that it’s too early for the sun to be rising. The moon hangs above the bleachers, shining some light on the horrible scene. The massive stadium lights are on, illuminating the large amount of fire trucks crowded around the gym. The building, a place for Republic teams to train and come up with new tactics, is on fire, the wooden wall covered in white paint with the Republic logo, falling down as he watches. The ambulance and fire truck crews are trying to help, crowds of students in pyjamas watching in horror. Cody’s phone pings, another desperate message from Rex.

Even from ages away, he can see the Defenders and Council, in little scattered groups. Melia, wearing Fives’s hoodie, soccer cleats on, leans into him, tucked under his protective arm. She holds Ahsoka’s hand as the girl stares at the burning building in horror. Ganodi and Katooni are sitting on the grass, weeping into each other while embracing. As Cody approaches, he sees a group of Fett students, tightly woven together. Ponds is curled into Mace, seeking comfort from his boyfriend. Everyone leans together, Wolffe turning to Cody as he walks up to the group.

“Codes!” Wolffe cries, sounding strangely worried from his usually stoic cousin. Everyone whips around, relaxing when they see him. Rex bolts to him and yanks him into a tight hug. His brother shakes as they embrace. Cody pulls back, looking at him worried.

“What’s wrong Rex? I saw your messages.” He asks, tucking his brother into his arms gently. Rex shakes slightly, looking up at his older twin with an emotion Cody can’t quite place. 

“I didn’t know where you were. I woke up and couldn’t find you anywhere. And then your keys were gone. I was so scared.” His voice cracks and he buries himself back into Cody’s larger frame. It doesn’t add up, Cody frequently leaving the dorms while Rex sleeps.

“Why Rex? Why were you scared?” He says gently, rubbing his brothers back with soft strokes. Rex looks down and a tear slips down his cheek. “Why were you scared for me?” Rex continues avoiding his glare, shaking his head. Cody’s emotions reach breaking point, he fights to maintain control.

“It’s not important.” Rex deflects, attempting a smile. Cody snaps, having had enough with people playing with his emotions recently, Satine playing with both him and Obi. He grabs his brother by the shoulders and shakes him slightly. 

“Rex. Answer me.” His twin snaps his head up, sadness with pure fury underneath transforming into anger in flash.

“Because I thought that you were in the soccer building. Because I know that when you’re angry, you do stupid things. And you lose your temper. Because you used to go kick a soccer ball when upset, now you can’t do anything because of a stupid Seppie. Because I fucking care about you Cody, despite the fact that you’re an idiot. Because we all care about you and you don’t fucking see it because you are so busy spiralling down into self-pity. Then you drag yourself out of your misery and try and fix everyone’s problems but your own. You can’t fix ours to ignore your problems. Don’t you get it? We’re family and we love you.” Rex shouts, voice breaking as he struggles free from Cody’s grip. His face is scrunched up, tiny tears rolling down his cheeks as he fights to keep a straight face. Cody’s anger dissipates, seeing the fact that Obi Wan and Satine had an effect on his family as well. Rex crumples forward, pitching himself into Cody’s grip and pulling them both to the ground. Cody struggles to fight back the tears. He knew that his family cared, but never that it was that bad. That he distances himself and then ignores his problems to protect his family. 

“Shit Rex.” He says, letting his brother weep into his jacket. His brother’s breaths grow uneven and Cody grasps his chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. “Follow my breaths Rex. In. Out. In. Out.” His brother stares intently into his eyes, slowing down his breaths. They almost match Cody’s, the deep breathing helping Rex cope. “You’re OK Rex. I’m OK.” Rex sits upright at his words, dashing away his tears with a balled fist. “What can I do?”

“Maybe listen to your family and don’t always think that you’re alone in this. We are your family Cody.” Rex croaks softly, wiping away his last tear, gently grabbing Cody and pulling him to his feet. They acknowledge Wolffe’s nod and the way his look stays a little longer on their obviously teary faces. Echo and Jesse move to either side of Cody, placing their hands on his shoulders. Anchoring him and steadying his emotions. Yells fill the air, Cody turning to see the people exiting the burning building.

A stretcher is wheeled onto the grass, everyone holds their breath, wanting to know who it is for. A girl with red dyed hair wails, sprinting across the field and trying to get to her sister, whose limp green hair flops across her shoulders as a medic carries her to the stretcher. Bly tenses, watching nervously as another stretcher arrives. The girl that the ambulance medics are working on has a haze of blue hair that is floating free around her face. Bly is moving before any Fett can stop him, bolting for Aayla. The Defenders Captain is immobile, burns over her arms and up onto the edge of her petite face. He tosses himself over her stretcher, sobbing slightly as he grabs her hand. Surprisingly, the medics let him, seeing the pure desperation on his face. Fox walks across to him, pulling his triplet close, Ponds kissing Mace before racing to his triplets and they all crumple to the grass together. Cody lets Rex lean into him, hugging his brother tightly. The rest of the group turns around, watching as the final people are cleared from the burning buildings, one looking particularly furious.

Bultar Swan, covered in soot, barrels towards Ahsoka, who’s standing with Melia, Fives and Barriss. She punches Ahsoka straight in the face. Ahsoka crumples to the ground, Melia almost immediately grabbing her friend and lowering her too the ground. Fives looks shocked, almost unaware of the elbow cracking for his ribs. It strikes him squarely, causing him to cough several times. Melia stands, her brown hair floating free from her ponytail. Her expression is cold, a wall slamming over her emotions. Bultar strikes again, attempting to swing a soccer booted foot at her. Melia simply catches her foot, using her momentum from the kick to swing her to the ground. Melia kneels over her, pinning her hands behind her back. Barriss slaps a hand over her mouth, not moving to assist any of them, trying to slowly back from the confrontation.

“Bultar? What the hell?” Melia asks, pinning the smaller girl down effortlessly. Bultar struggles, bucking up and squirming from side to side, hissing curses at the other student. “Swan? What are you trying to tell me?” She leans over her. “Bultar? Speak up!” She lunges up, shoving Melia and elbowing her squarely in her nose. She falls back, grasping her nose.

“I’m going to kill that bitch!” Bultar flies to her feet, bolting towards Ahsoka, Barriss crouched next to her friend. Ahsoka’s blue and white fishtail braids have smears of blood and ash along the strands surrounding her face. Barriss flinches away from the angry Defender, Ahsoka leaning on her shoulder. Bultar stops suddenly, hitting the ground. Melia stands above her, her blue tipped hair flying around her flushed face. Blood stains her lips, raised in a snarl. Her foot, having kicked out Bultar’s legs, is sooty and has little grass patches on it.

“Ahsoka! Barriss! Are you guys OK?” Melia says fear and urgency in her tone. The blood smeared around her nose and lips gives her a feral look. She desperately tries to stop it from dripping onto Fives’s soccer hoodie, which is basically her hoodie now. Small flecks of blood stick to the fabric, the vibrant red standing out against the powdery blue hoodie. Ahsoka stands up, leaning heavily on Barriss, who steadies her friend. 

“Yeah Melia. I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be!” Ahsoka coughs slightly. Barriss pushes Ahsoka’s hair out of her face. Her nose, traditional diamond tattoo on it, is scrunched up in something like worry or guilt. Bultar attempts to leap to her feet, Melia pressing her foot into Bultar’s chest, pushing her back down.

“Last warning Swan. Stay down.” She snaps, wiping her bloody nose with the back of her hand. Campus security rush over, placing themselves between the pair of furious girls. The second they’re between the girls, Fives moves forward, grabbing Melia around her waist and snatching a pair of tissues out of his pocket and presses one to her nose, she relaxes into him, leaning into the person who acts as her anchor. Ahsoka stands alone, watching the chaos unfolding before her. Barriss walks away from them, black jumper blending with ash smeared all over her and her scarf.

The fields were cleared, people sent back to dorms by a yelling Guard. Almost everyone is crammed into Cody and Rex’s dorms. Rex and the rest of Jango’s kids sit on the floor. Bly rushed to the hospital, wanting to be with Aayla. Mace and Ponds and Comet went with Kit and a few other men, mainly soccer players, to see if they can do anything to assist with cleaning up the mess. Fox got pulled into work, attempting to find the cause of the fire. Helix and Kix sit on a couch, bandaging Melia’s arm. The girl, having minor burns from helping others out of the flames, refused to go to a hospital or seek treatment. Fives, not wanting to see her hurt, basically dragged her to Kix and Helix, getting the med students to heal her, something they were only to happy to do, considering the burns treatment unit on the final test. They talk softly, treating her burns by the book while Fives sits up on the back of a chair, watching over them with an eagle eye. Every now and then Melia winces and Fives lets her grip his hand. Waxer and Boil lie on each other, eating crackers annoyingly loud. Ahsoka had gone with Anakin and Obi, choosing to comfort herself by surrounding herself with her family. The door slowly creaks open and Fox steps in, face creased with worry. He looks around, sighing at all the questioning faces.

“They have a suspect.” He pauses, running a hand through his hair and avoiding looking at Fives, Melia, and Echo. “Its Ahsoka Tano. They think she did it.” Melia tenses on the couch, eyes going wide.

“Ahsoka? My Ahsoka? My friend?” She asks, voice stained with disbelief. Fox simply nods, walking for the coffee maker, despite the fact that it’s night. She sinks back into the pillows, breaths coming choppily. “No. Ahsoka would never.” Fox shrugs, grabbing a mug.

“That’s what a few others said. They think that her motive...” His precise voice is cut off by Melia standing and turning to face him.

“Motive? What possible motive would my best friend have to attempt to burn a building down to the ground with her and I still inside?” She questions furiously, hands balled into fists at her side. Fox looks done with everything, grabbing a chair, and collapsing down into it, nursing his coffee.

“That’s the thing. They think that she went back for you after lighting the fire. She’s going to be placed under temporary custody and they will do a full investigation. But she can’t be arrested until the board has met. That gives you until 11am to warn her.” Fox says, tilting his head towards the door, nodding at the resolve on her face. Melia nods back, acknowledging his message, and turns, grabbing her phone and racing to the door. 

“Thank you Kix, Helix and Fox. I need to go talk to Ahsoka before she gets arrested for a crime that she would never commit.” Melia nods, opening the door and striding into the corridor. Fives practically bolts after her. Fox leans forward, placing his forehead on the smooth marble kitchen island and groans.

“Well that went surprisingly well.” He remarks, downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp. “Anyone up for Sabbac?”

Melia runs through the hall, still in her soccer uniform with hair in a choppy plait. Ash still stains her body, bright white bandages wrapped around parts of her arm. She knows where Ahsoka will be and she’s so scared. Her friend, her best friend, would never do this to her. Never collapse parts of a soccer building by committing arson. Never do this to the team. Never hurt Aayla or Katooni or Tiplar. A tear escapes her flushed face and she spins to face the person who followed her out of the door.

“Go away.” It sounds pathetic, even to her own ears. The tears beginning rolling down her cheeks undermine the strength in her angry tone Fives steps towards her, brushing away her few tears with a gentle hand.

“I’m not leaving you Melia. I’m not.” He says, gently pulling her plait out of her face and brushing some ash off.   
“Fives. They think Ahsoka did it. She wouldn’t. She would never do this to us. To everyone in that building. It can’t be her.” Melia whispers, moving into Fives, who pulls her into his chest, tucking her in as she begins to breathe sharply. His own burns, caused by almost racing back into the building to see if she was OK, are aching, having insisted that Kix treats her first. Little bits of blood still crust her face and the tips of her hair. She squeezes him tighter, causing him to huff out a breath as she accidently presses against the bruise that Bultar left. Immediately, she pulls back and gives him one of her patented are you ok looks.

“I’m OK Melia. I’m OK. I just need you to not do anything stupid. Go Melia. Please, tell Ahsoka and ask if she really did it. I can’t come with you. I know that if I see Obi Wan, I’ll punch him for what he did to my brother. I’ll ask Fox if he has any more information. He wants you to warn her.” He kisses her forehead gently, embracing her then gently pushing her away. “Go. Go tell Ahsoka.” He says. She nods, darting down the corridor. 

Anakin and Obi’s room is closed, Melia rapping on the door impatiently. Anakin opens it and sees her, still covered in ash and blood, and lets her in without question. Ahsoka is sitting on the kitchen island and flings herself off when she sees her friend.

“Melia!” She says, going for a hug and pulling back when she sees the burns. “Are you alright? Why haven’t you gotten cleaned up?” 

“I’m alright Ahsoka. Fives got his medic brother to treat me. But you need to answer me honestly. Please.” She begs, seeing Ahsoka tilt her head slightly in confusion, then shrug and nod. “They think you lit the fire. Did you?” Anakin, behind them freezes and looks over to Ahsoka, who is shocked, staring at her friend. “Please Ahsoka. I need the truth.”

“I didn’t do it. I swear.” Ahsoka says defiantly, meeting Melia’s stare. “I would never do anything to hurt you, or anyone on our team. You have to know that.” Melia breathes out slowly.

“Fox told me to warn you. The board thinks that you tried to burn us.” Melia says slowly.

“I would never. You have to know that.” She snaps back. Anakin moves to her, grasping her shoulders.

“Ahsoka. I know you wouldn’t have done it. But evidently, someone thinks that you did.” He says calmly. His fingers dig into her arms and she looks into his eyes, tears welling up slowly. 

“Anakin. I don’t know why they think I did it. I don’t know.” She says softly, leaning into Anakin and he clings to her, ignoring Melia as she practically collapses into a chair, wincing as her burnt arm brushes the table. Ahsoka lets Anakin embrace her, kissing her forehead softly with a brotherly affection. Melia rolls her eyes, holding her phone out.

“Uh this is great bonding and all that, but they think Ahsoka committed arson and attempted murder. Fives texted me. Those are the charges that Moff Tarkin and the board wants to lay, alongside with Republic Security. So, what do we do?” She says cynically, leaning back against her chair, brushing her messily done plait that Fives did over her shoulder. Anakin moves away from Ahsoka, pacing the floor. 

“Do you have an alibi?” A cultured voice interrupts and Melia is halfway out of her chair, small knife emerging from her pockets when Obi raises his hands and smiles at them. “Sorry for interrupting, but I couldn’t help but hear the conversation. So Ahsoka, alibi?” He asks expectantly. She sighs, leaning back and looking at him with a guilty expression.

“I can’t tell you Obi. I’m sorry.” She whispers, looking to the floor awkwardly. Melia sighs, walking to the coffee maker and turning it on.

“Look people, it’s gonna be a long night and I don’t have any painkillers and my burns are hurting like hell. I suggest we get coffee and call Padme. We have like a few hours before she probably gets called before the board, so I suggest we get a politics student in here to help.” Melia grabs a computer and opens it up, watching the others prepare for the oncoming storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. I got tumblr, so if you want to say hi, my name is wish-ika :)


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka's trial comes, and Anakin wants to find out who set up his little sister.

By the time the sun rises, the group is scattered across the room, coffees in hand. Padme sits on a chair, highlighters in hand, reading through a part of her law textbook. It’s the part about campus and the rights and responsibilities of the students and board members. Anakin is lying across a couch, Ahsoka sitting on the back of the couch. Obi is sitting on a kitchen stool, watching as Melia goes to make herself the 4th coffee of this morning. He leans forward, placing an elbow on the bench.  
“Hey Melia. Do you think you could answer me a question?” He says, anxiously fiddling with one of the drawstrings on his hoodie. The girl, still having ash and dirt on her clothes, takes a sip of the coffee, fixing Obi with her best poker face  
“I’ll try to answer the question, but I cannot guarantee what answer you will find.” She answers cryptically, looking at how Obi blinks lightly and nods.  
“OK. Are all the Fett kids mad at me?” He takes a deep breath and blurts out his question. A slight expression of shock forms on Melia’s face, but she disguises it with an excellent yawn.  
“Well. Do you want the honest answer? Because if you do, you might not like what you hear.” She says diplomatically, trying to divert his attention.  
“I want the honest answers. Please.” Obi whispers, closing his eyes and sighing. Melia nods and takes another sip of coffee, trying to steady herself.  
“Here we go then. Cody is pretty torn up about it all. He believed that you were actually cared about him. He tried to find excuses for you, reasons why you would make out with Satine Kryze, that absolute bitch. Wolffe is pretty pissed off. Both Echo and Fives feel responsible for what you did to Cody, as they introduced you guys and started you off dating. Imagine how angry everyone else is, times it by 20 and that is how angry Rex is.” Obi winces and looks at the marble bench. “He feels guilty for not protecting his brother, for not caring enough to make sure you wouldn’t do something so incredibly stupid like this. He feels angry as well, because he finally trusted his brother to make his own story and do his own thing and to come out of his shell, and then this shit happens. What in the hell were you thinking Obi Wan? What went through your head that motivated you to do this? To ruin a relationship by kissing your ex, who is the biggest bitch in this city. Why did you do this to Cody? He cared so so much about you and now that care has turned to sadness. If I were him, I wouldn’t accept any apology, but you need to get your head out of your ass and contact him. Apologise, tell him why. And do it fast. Because for some people no closure is the worst. Don’t be more of an asshole than you already are.” She tips back the mug, draining the coffee and raising her eyebrows. The thunk of a heavy law book falling onto a desk snaps them up and Padme sighs heavily.  
“Ok people. I think they will probably call her in for a private hearing. With the school board as witnesses. She can claim innocence but she needs to have someone who knows law in there with her. Ahsoka?” Padme briefs them, burying her face into her hands. Ahsoka looks around at her friends and nods.  
“Padme? Will you come in with me?” She asks, sounding scared. Padme looks at her and nods, noticing the clear fear on her face. A knock on the door startles them and Anakin, the closest, stands up and opens it. It’s Fox, with two board members.  
“Ahsoka Tano? We tried your dorm, but there was no one in there.” An older man steps forwards, looking at her with a clear disdain. Ahsoka tilts her head slightly.  
“Barriss should be in there. Is Barriss in the Med Bay? I didn’t think she had any injuries. She got out before the rest of us.” She asks, concerned about the fate of her friend. Fox steps up beside the man.  
“Ahsoka Tano. The School Board would like to talk to you about what happened last night and any relation you had to the starting of that fire.” He says calmly, nodding to Melia almost imperceptibly, who nods back. Padme walks next to Ahsoka, grabbing the younger girls hand.  
“Ahsoka has the right to a legal trained person sitting in on this hearing. If you refuse to comply with that, then you are breaking section 19 protocol 43 of the student handbook.” Padme rattles off, gripping Ahsoka. The man thinks about it then nods.   
“I am Tarkin. You will address me as Mr Tarkin at all times. Very well. You may sit in on this talk.” He says, menace clear in his tone. Padme smiles at him, letting Fox escort them out.  
“Wait!” Ahsoka yelps, breaking free and racing back to the group. She barrels into Anakin, burying her head into his chest. “Anakin, can you find Barriss for me? I haven’t seen her since after the fire since she wasn’t at the start of training. Can you make sure she’s OK?” She pleads, waiting for his nod then racing away back to the small procession. Anakin sighs.   
“Melia? Do you want to go find Barriss?” He asks. She shakes her head.  
“Sorry Anakin. I need to go tell the Fett kids what happened and get my burns seen to by a doctor because the pain meds I took are wearing off. If you’re looking for Barriss, I would suggest the dorms, library or med bay.” She winces as a bandaged elbow brushes the bench and starts hurting again. She stands, grabbing her phone and walks out of the dorm. Anakin sighs in frustration. Looking for a missing child when his little sister is currently being interrogated by a bunch of old vultures. 

Cody, pacing worriedly, is in the Med Bay. Aayla Secura, the goalie for the Defenders and their famous Capitan, lies still in a hospital bed, hooked up to an astounding range of monitors and machines. Bly sits next to her, a chair pulled tightly next to the bed, whispering things to his girlfriend as she sleeps. The fire hit her hard, she refused to leave until everyone else was out, doubling back to help Tiplar, who got stuck. The girls tried to make it out, the building falling down around them. Firefighters got to them before the flames did, hauling the girls out and handing them over to the anxiously awaiting medics. Tiplar had gotten off lightest, some slight smoke inhalation and quite a few bruises. Aayla had leant over the younger girl, light burns lacing up her legs and chest, a killer headache and a nasty sounding cough. Bly had been so worried, trying to find his girlfriend with the knowledge that she had been in the building.  
Cody just sits there, in a visitors chair near no bed, keeping himself away from the now crying Bly. If his cousin needs him, he will tell him. The door slams open and Anakin Skywalker races in, looking around frantically. Bly shoots up, grasping Aayla’s hand and glaring at the intruder. Cody rolls his eyes, hurrying down to the stressed man.  
“Hi Anakin. You Ok?” He asks, noticing the piece of wire sticking out from his prosthetic hand that he is fiddling with anxiously.   
“Yeah. I’m looking for Barriss? Girl, bout this tall, plays on defenders, short and spiky black hair, tattoos across her nose and cheeks, diamond shaped, traditional thing. Usually wears black all the time and has a black head scarf and Ahsoka told me to come look for her and make sure she’s OK.” He rambles, gesturing anxiously to show height. Cody blinks in shock, tilting his head slightly, before stepping backwards and looking around. The only people still in hospital beds are Aayla and Tiplar, both girls asleep after a while. He turns back to Anakin and shakes his head.   
“Nope. Wherever she is, she’s not in here. Sorry Anakin. I don’t know where she would be. Maybe check the dorms?” He says, looking at Bly and Aayla before standing up and gesturing for Anakin to follow him out of the Med Bay. The other man, anxiously gnawing on his lip, follows him without question. Once outside, Cody pulls out his phone. “Anakin, why are you looking for her?” Anakin stops his anxious pacing and blinks.   
“Oh. Ahsoka wanted me to find her and make sure she was OK after the fire. She hasn’t texted her or anything. And since Ahsoka is currently getting yelled at by the council because they think that she started the fire.” He seems concerned, twisting his shirt sleeve in his hand. Cody makes a split-second decision.  
“Do you want me to come with you to find her? I’m just waiting for Bly to finish talking to Aayla. But he’ll be fine if I leave him.” He offers the idea to Anakin who nods and walks out.

The little chime from Anakin’s phone makes his head snap up sharply, almost dropping the phone in his hurry to answer it.

Padme  
Angel: Ahsoka is being expelled  
Angel: Then they’re taking the matter to the police  
Angel: Have you found Barriss yet?

His heart stops beating, and Cody stops on the pathway in front of him, head tilted slightly.  
“What happened?”   
“They’re expelling Ahsoka.” The words sound foreign to Anakin’s ears and he clutches the phone with his prosthetic, ignoring the slight creaking complaint from the plastic case.  
“Shit.” Cody shakes his head, clearing the fuzz building up in his ears. “I should go get Fives and Melia. They can comfort Ahsoka for a bit.”  
“Good idea. I’ll find Barriss.”

“Dorms it is then.” Anakin glares at the building, scanning the stairway. The walk up to Barriss and Ahsoka’s room is quiet and the door hangs ajar, Anakin prodding it open even more. Soot and ash cover the hoodie thrown over the kitchen table, diagrams and a list of notes under the sleeve. Ahsoka’s presence in the room is everywhere, little post it notes stuck on the fridge and random screw drivers left covered in oil.  
“Barriss? Ahsoka asked me to come look for you.” He quickly checks the corners of the room then startles when a bedroom door creaks open.   
“Oh. Anakin. I didn’t know you were in here.” Barriss has a scarf over her hair, and a towel in her hands. There’s something dark and menacing looking on them that she is attempting to scrub off and the towel has black patches all over it. Little bandages cover one of her hands and a little bit up her arm. Her eyes are dark and the bags under them look large enough to store a bus. But despite everything clearly wrong, she smiles slightly, eyes showing a darkness she doesn’t face.   
“Ahsoka asked me to check on you. Make sure you’re alright.” Anakin says, peering out of the corner of his eye at the diagrams.  
“Well, I’m alright. Tell Ahsoka that.” Barriss attempts to make a joke out of it, flicking one hand at her face. Her smile fades a bit as she takes in the slump in his back and the worry in his eyes. “Is Ahsoka alright? I haven’t heard from her. I lost my phone when Aayla was guiding me out.”  
“Ahsoka is getting expelled because whoever started the fire made sure to blame it on her.” He grinds the words out between gritted teeth, glaring at the Republic logo on the jumper. Barriss gasps, slapping one hand over her mouth.  
“They think Ahsoka did it? How awful. And she’s getting expelled?” She gasps the words, a slight hint of panic to her tone.   
“Which is why I am going to find whoever did it and make them confess to the whole school.” Anakin states, sitting on one side of the couch and opening up his texts. The Campus Security number was in there and he quickly brings it up, tapping the dorm number in and sending it.   
“How brave of you.” Barriss walks over to the kettle. It’s already boiled and the little teapot gets a new bag of leaves. A lighter slips out of her pocket and onto the bench in the blink of an eye and she goes back to the teacup. Dirt still stains her hands and she washes them again, almost absently.  
“Barriss, can I ask you a question?” she stills at the sink, tensing up. When she turns to face him, the tension is drained and a half-hearted smile appears.  
“Sure, but I don’t think I can be of much help to you.” Anakin nods at her and flicks on the voice recorder on his phone, stashing it back in his jumper.  
“Why do you have so much dirt on your hands?” He questions, leaning back on the couch.  
“I bought a little plot of land in a garden near here. I thought today would be a good day for gardening, so I was going later. Turns out it’s good I stayed.”   
“Of course. What happened to you last night?” Anakin glances around as he talks, taking in every detail he could find. Barriss picks up her tea and strolls across the floor, curling into the chair opposite him.  
“I can’t really remember much. I remember having the meeting, then we went to the individual training. I went to the toilet and I saw…. I saw Ahsoka going down the hallway near where the fire started. She had her phone out and she looked really worried and angry. I hope she won’t get in trouble. Then I went back to the meeting and Aayla got us out when the alarms went off, but I don’t remember anything else. I was lucky I got out uninjured. Sorry.” She sips serenely from her tea as she talks, eyes flicking away from his gaze.  
“That’s OK. Was there a fight or something? Bultar seemed furious.” He says, calmly looking at the notes on the table.   
“Oh yes. It was awful. She just went crazy and attempted to attack Ahsoka. It’s lucky that Melia stepped in when she did, or someone could’ve gotten seriously hurt.”   
“I suppose you could call it lucky. Well I better go and check on Ahsoka.” He stands up, deliberately slamming his knee into the table leg as hard as he can. Ahsoka had complained a million times about an irritating table leg, he just hoped it was the right one. The table slides sideways, shedding the papers and jumper onto the floor as Barriss, forgetting the seemingly tired act, shoots up and grabs it, wincing when it brushes her skin. The paper that falls near Anakin has names and numbers scrawled on it. The names all look familiar. And the numbers…. Another scrap of paper falls, harsh lines scrawled across it in the shape of a building. It flicks over as it falls and a little list on the back screams at him. Gasoline. Barriss’s jumper slides across the floor, leaving a trail of ash and a smell that’s familiar to Anakin’s engineering heart. Fire.   
“Say Barriss, what did you say the dirt was from again?” He rolls the jumper under the table, collecting the paper.   
“Gardening.” She almost snaps the words. The little pieces click as Anakin stands up and looks at her.  
“But you said you weren’t going gardening till this afternoon? So why do you have dirt on your hands now?” Anakin questions. Barriss attempt to speak but he cuts her off. “And why did you take a lighter out of your pocket? How did you know where the fire started if you were back in the hall? Why do you have diagrams of the building and a list of the team with Melia and Aayla’s written in red ink? How was your jumper covered in ash if you were the first out? And how the hell did you get all those burns from escaping first? Why does the shopping list say gasoline?” He steps towards her and Barriss backs away, face going pale.  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Those notes must belong to Ahsoka. It’s the only possible solution.” She stutters, back hitting the wall.   
“My last question is why would you want to burn down a building with your team and friends inside? And why blame Ahsoka.” Something changes in her eyes and she smiles.  
“They aren’t my friends. None of them are. Stupid little Defenders. Melia, trying to sabotage me and make a fool of me. Aayla making stupid mistakes and blaming me for them. The list goes on and on. I just wish that I had remembered to lock the doors.” Barriss laughs the last words, breath coming out in large heaves. “It was too easy to make Ahsoka my scapegoat. I used her lab pass and credit card after all. Too easy to make her walking away from the meeting an alibi. Too bad that the Swan saw me with the lighter. Little taunting and there you go, make your own fury.” She cackles, eyes wide.  
“You’re insane.” Anakin whispers, closing his eyes.  
“Oh yes. Yes. But it isn’t like they didn’t have it coming. They deserve it. This place should’ve all burned. And I would do it all again.” She laughs at the terror on his face, picking up her lighter and flicking it between her fingers. “You decide where I drop this Skywalker.” The flame flares to life and he fights back the rising panic and backs away, reaching blindly for the door handle.   
“You shouldn’t have blamed Ahsoka. I recorded this whole thing. It’s going straight to Palpatine.”   
“Wrong move.” She grabs the lighter and holds up a piece of paper, charring it. The door slams open behind him and he nearly weeps with relief to see Fox. The security trainee takes in the lighter wielding girl and the trembling Anakin and pulls out his comm unit. 

“We have records of Tano’s student ID badge being used to open the storeroom! And she won’t tell us where she was during the incident.” Tarkin argues his case to Palpatine, who nods and smiles at Padme.   
“Dear, unless you can explain where Tano was during the time of the incident, it appears as if she is the only possible perpetrator.” He assures kindly, smiling sweetly. Padme nods back at him and turns to Ahsoka.   
“Ahsoka please. Just say where you were.” She pleads, fear growing in her eyes. Ahsoka stands up and looks at Tarkin.  
“I wasn’t with the team because I just got a call that my childhood best friend was discovered as a drug runner for a gang, then overdosed and her sister didn’t know who to call for advice. You can look it up if you want to. Trace and Rafa Martez.”  
“That won’t be necessary sir.” Fox walks through the door behind her, holding a USB stick in his gloved hand.   
“Officer 1010. Why are you interrupting?” Palpatine says cuttingly, glaring at the Fett.   
“Apologies sir. But one Anakin Skywalker just provided us with extra information that can clear Ahsoka Tano from any participation in the arson.” Fox sounds too smug, a small smile twisting the corners of his mouth.  
“Well who did it then?” Tarkin roars, standing up and yelling.  
“Barriss Offee.” The words slam into Ahsoka and she collapses back into her chair, clutching her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you guys know, i now have a tumblr where i post random rants on a series of fandoms. Come say high :)   
> tumblr- wish-ika


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka stands trial, then the true guilty party is found. Unfortunately, her time at Republic University must come to an end

The door opens slowly after the hours of waiting and Ahsoka walks out, looking subdued. She simply moves straight past them, without even turning to face any of her friends, all waiting anxiously for her fate. Anakin shoots to his feet, and glances to the Council members leaving the room. Plo looks at them grimly and shakes his head slowly. Melia crumples into Fives. Cody sees Anakin tense then turn and run after her. Wolffe moves towards his father and lays a hand on his shoulder.

“You did everything you could.” All of the Plo’s sons surround their father, knowing that he always blames himself. Cody knows that Plo would’ve tried everything to help someone who any of the Fett’s were so fond of. Ahsoka wasn’t going to stay. Not after everything. Anakin simply wouldn’t understand. He has to follow them.

When he reaches the outside stairway that leads down to the grounds, he sees them. Anakin is standing a few metres away from Ahsoka, who has her arms wrapped around her abdomen, as if trying to shield herself from blows. Cody goes to steps closer then pauses, not wanting to interrupt their moment. 

“They’re asking you back Ahsoka.” Anakin sounds broken, scared.

“They never should have told me to leave. I’m sorry Anakin. I’m not coming back. They don’t trust me.” She goes to turn away and he grabs her elbow.

“What about me? I believed in you. I stood by you.” She softly pulls away from his arm.

“I know you believe in me. I’m grateful for that. But I can’t stay here any longer. Not now. Not after this.” Ahsoka’s voice trembles and her eyes well up with small tears. She reaches out and slowly grabs Anakin’s hand, placing her student card on its lanyard into his hand, before closing his hand around it.

“I understand. I understand wanting to walk away from everything.” He grips the card tighter as he speaks.

“I know you do. I couldn’t stay here any longer, even if I wanted to. Bo-Katan asked me to move to Independent University. The transfer got approved yesterday. They’re giving me another chance. They’ll let me play for the Nite Owls. If I stayed, all I would get is pitying expressions and half-hearted apologies. This place is corrupt. Maybe it’s time for me to change.” She turns and offers a sorrowful smile to Anakin before looking down at the tiled ground. “Maybe someday, you’ll forgive me. I hope you will.” Anakin surges forward and hugs her tightly.

“I forgive you. I understand.” She tenses, then returns his embrace, clinging to him as sobs begin to wrack her body. Slowly they crumble together, falling to their knees. They remain like that for several minutes, Ahsoka weeping into his shoulder. 

Once both of them regain their composure, they stand together. Ahsoka moves to Fives and Echo and pulls them together. Her typical braids fall over her shoulders as they tuck her into the centre of their arms. They steady her as she nearly falls over. Melia is next, Ahsoka almost breaking her ribs with the strength of her hug. When they pull apart, both of them have tears welling in their eyes. Melia nods to Ahsoka, who leans forward and flips her hair back. It’s a small, but weighty gesture of affection. Cody steps forward as she moves away from her best friend. He straightens her overalls then opens his arms.

“I’m sorry Ahsoka.” He whispers, embracing her like she’s his sister. She might as well be. 

“It’s not your fault Cody. I didn’t know what I was going to do once I got expelled. Your trust in Bo-Katan made me reach out to her. You helped me find a place to go and people who will support me. Thank you, Cody.” She steps away from him, going to Rex, Kix and Jesse, before racing to Obi Wan, who’s standing next to the steps. Ahsoka flies up to him and into the hug he offers. She says something to him, and he pulls away from her with a worried and fearful expression. She hugs him tighter and he visibly relaxes into her arms. Then she walks away, turning to look back at her assembled friends, before offering them a wistful grin and striding down the steps. They watch as she goes, as she walks across the grounds and to the carpark, steps getting lighter and lighter as she goes, like she’s been freed from a crushing weight

When Ahsoka reaches the carpark, they see Bo-Katan, leaning against a convertible car, a few suitcases on the ground next to it. As Ahsoka strides up, Bo-Katan stands and moves towards her, glinting red hair slipping over her shoulder. She holds out her hand to Ahsoka and she takes it, smiling broadly as they clasp hands. Together they lift the suitcases into the back of the car. Bo-Katan starts the car and it roars out of the car park. Then they’re gone. Ahsoka has left. Cody knows that she’ll visit, but she’s walking away from this University and its values.

Everyone drifts away slowly, moving back to their dorms and to the common rooms. Eventually Anakin, Cody and Obi Wan are the only ones left. Anakin just stands there, staring at the space where Ahsoka was, clutching her card. Obi sits on a wall near him and Cody sits back on the steps down to the platform. He watches, waiting for Anakin to crack or Obi to intervene. Anakin falls first, crumpling, knees colliding with the tiles, Ahsoka’s student card with the blood red lanyard spilling out of his grips. He doesn’t move for a long time, then a sob breaks from his throat. Obi Wan stands, then walks over to Anakin, before sitting next to him. Anakin drops his head into Obi’s lap and begins to cry softly. Cody feels like he’s butting in on a private moment. He climbs to his feet and leaves quietly, waiting until he’s in his dorm to quietly mourn the loss of his friend.

Anakin falls apart slowly. He always does. He feels it in his heart. A meaningless fear that now that one person has left, all of his friends will follow. He uses his close friends as an anchor, clinging to them to stop his drifting. Now he’s lost again. A little pebble in a raging stream of emotions and broken feelings. He hasn’t felt like this since the first night after Shimi had died. Hadn’t allowed himself to show his true feelings since. Hadn’t even let himself show a fracture in his wall around heart. Obi and Ahsoka had slowly chipped down his barricades, made their way into his family and his heart. He thought that it hadn’t affected him that much. He hadn’t had any problems with not showing feelings. Except for that one night when he had let himself break a tiny bit. Cody been through a similar thing with his mother. Padme was annoyed by the fact that he didn’t truly let anyone in. He loves her though.

Ahsoka had left the University. He couldn’t even blame her. She had her reasons, and he couldn’t have stopped her. Before she left, she had begged for forgiveness, asking if maybe one day he might forgive her. He had never been mad at her in the first place. Anakin hadn’t been a good friend if she felt that she had to have his opinion for making a choice. She’d given him her campus student card. The red lanyard had spilled from his hand like blood when he had finally given in to his feelings and collapsed. The wall around his heart slowly coming down.

Obi Wan had been there, letting him lean onto his shoulder, then letting him fall onto his lap. Gently pulling his fingers through his messy hair. Grabbing tissues from a mini packet in his pocket before wiping his tears from his already stained face. Not saying a single word, just letting him break before trying to pick up the pieces. Anakin had hiccupped sobs and wept salty tears. When he had no tears left to spill, he let Obi help him stand up and support him as they make their way across campus. 

The dorms had been empty, despite the fact that it was not that late at night. Students they did pass tend to steer clear of the pair, avoiding looking at their eyes. It hurts him. How not so long ago, they had believed that Ahsoka had committed arson. Turning on her the second that she showed any sign of weakness. Their beloved Fulcrum. The School Council had turned on her as well. Cody had helped him find out the real truth, revealing that Barriss Offee had done the thing that Ahsoka had taken the fall from. She couldn’t have stayed. Anakin knows that to be true in his heart.

Their dorm room looks different. All the normal things are there. But it feels like it has changed a lot. Ahsoka’s hoodie and beanie are slung over a chair. Her chocolate and sweet box is on the table. Her Defenders cap is on the bench and her spare soccer boots and shin pads that she always ruins are lying next to the mat. Like she’s about to come bursting through the door and grab her boots before sprinting to practise, ranting about new tactics to beat the Nightsisters. He can’t believe that she’d leave those behind. He’ll give them when he sees her next.

Obi Wan guides him over to the couch as his legs lose the ability to support his weight. Then Obi leaves him, going to his own room. On the couch is her favourite blanket to snuggle up under and binge watch Disney movies with him and Obi. His little sister. Another family member gone. At least she’s alive. At least she stayed in the city. Near him. He could visit her once it all settles down. Maybe she left something for him.

He stands and digs under the blanket, searches through the lounge and into the kitchen. Little notes cover the fridge and her leftovers are specifically labelled with her Fulcrum sign. He doesn’t mind that she stole his old soccer call sign. It suits her. The lines curving out and little dots either side. Anakin hopes that she’ll keep the call sign, as a little piece of Republic. Bo-Katan isn’t trustworthy in his opinion. But Cody likes her, pretty much adopting her into the Fett’s. A knock sounds at the door and he reluctantly moves to answer it. Wolffe is on the other side, bouncing awkwardly from one foot to the other.

“Plo said that Ahsoka gave these to him to pass on. One for you, one for Obi Wan and one for Padme. I already delivered ones to Melia, Hunt and Fives.” He hands over three letters, neatly folded up. 

“Thank you.” Anakin calmly shuts the door and walks to the table, placing the letter for Padme on the top of his Laptop. Then he makes his way to Obi’s bedroom door and knocks softly.

“Come in.” Obi’s typically happy or calm voice sounds strangely dull. He pulls open the door and sees Obi, curled in a ball under a pile of fluffy blankets. Anakin crosses to him and gives him the letter.

“Wolffe came by. Said Ahsoka gave these to Plo to give to us. I’m going to read mine in the lounge.” He keeps his voice neutral, striding into the lounge room and flopping onto the couch. He pulls Ashoka’s blanket around him and starts to read.

Dear Anakin,

My favourite brother (Don’t tell Obi). You’ve helped me through so much troubles, basically adopting me at one point. You helped me build my first mini robot and pull of my first real prank and the whole reason we met is because I lit part of your work bench on fire. I still claim that that was an accident. I know that you will understand me leaving in time. But I need space. I need to go somewhere where people don’t whisper behind their hands when I walk by. I want to keep using Fulcrum and keep playing the same soccer position you did. That you told me the best tactics for. But I want to do it at another place. You may not like Bo-Katan, but she and Ursa offered me friendship. Even when we beat their ass in soccer. I’ve given you a letter to give to Padme. Please tell her thank you for trying to defend me. It’s not her fault that Tarkin is a complete asshole. I hope that you will text me once you get this letter to let me know what you feel. I’m not that far away. Dorm 137 in Mandolore. Floor 4. Next to Bo-Katan and Ursa. Roommate is someone called Rook Kast. So, for fucks sake, get off the damn couch, stop crying and grab your phone and text me.

Ahsoka Tano

He wipes his brimming tears to the side and stands up, moving towards his phone on the charger. He pulls up the text conversation and smiles sadly as he sends a message

Snips

Skyguy: You are Fulcrum. I fully understand you leaving. I would’ve done the same. You left your soccer boots here. Would you still do Disney nights with Obi and Padme and me?

He powers down the phone and sits on one of the counter stools. When he first met her, she was wearing a crop top in a mechanics lab, trying to stop a fire from engulfing his bench. Now she beats up people on a soccer field. 

“What’d she tell you?” Obi Wan queries from behind him, nearly causing him to fall off his chair in shock.

“She said that she wants me to understand why she left and that she is only a phone call away at any given time. What about yours?” Obi looks down at the letter in his hand than at Anakin’s eyes.

“The same thing she told me on the steps. She said that she got a second chance because of us fighting for her. And that maybe I’ll get a second chance with Cody as well.” Anakin reaches out and grips Obi’s shoulder with his prosthetic as his brother leans toward him, fighting to keep his balance.

“When she told me that, I was scared, I asked if he would ever forgive me. I broke his trust and did something so horribly stupid. Do you know what she said?” He looks up, face shining with hope. “She said that perhaps he already has. Maybe Cody and I could be together again if I just get over my ego and apologise to him. Have I been stupid and self-absorbed?” 

“Yeah. You really have.” Obi ignores the jibe, years of living with Anakin causing him to just ignore the comment.

“I need to text Cody. Or call. Or write a love letter.” Obi Wan dances off the stool and into his room before slamming the door behind him Anakin stands and grabs the letter addressed to Padme. She deserves to know what is happening and what Ahsoka wants to tell her. He grabs his phone and walks out of his dorm room, heart singing. Maybe he’ll ask Padme to take a stroll through the grounds, go for lunch at the Food Hall, sit in the library and read together for hours. Who knows? His walls around his emotions might be coming down slowly, but he needs to tell Padme how much he loves her and apologise for being distant and sealed off. And after that he’ll talk to Ahsoka. Then he will let himself mourn for the first time in years.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Echo and Kix miss Ahsoka, but their side project is growing in size and difficulty. Hopefully Anakin likes it.

Kix rubs at his eyes with the back of his hand, ignoring the grease staining his fingers. Helix passes him a tissue quickly and he nods, scrubbing the stain off his face. A click comes from the other side of the circular table and Echo lets out a stream of swear words, slinging the wrench at the wall, narrowly missing the bookshelf.

“For fucks sake. Why won’t this piece of….” Echo’s voice trails off. His fingers tap on the side of the metal cylinder, tongue poking out slightly from between his teeth as he concentrates on the problem in front of him.

“Is there a problem?” Helix asks the question, taking a sip from his mug of coffee, sweeping a pile of bolts out of its way. 

“Well I know I assembled it right. But it’s not working!” His cousin snaps, slamming his closed fist on the piece of metal again and again. His head follows his fist, deviating slightly to the side and striking the table instead. The thunk it makes is ridiculously loud and Kix peers around, making sure that no one heard the bang.   
The library is meant to be a no swearing and no yelling zone, as well as an area where mechanical parts and no coffee where allowed. They’re currently breaking about every single one of those rules. If any of the librarians discover their mess in the corner, they are dead. Admittedly, the Laboratory would have been a better place to do this, but unlike the library, it has a closing time. So here they were, Kix sitting on the table with a stack of medical books, Helix sitting cross legged in a chair and drinking his tenth mug of coffee in the day, and Echo holding a metal cylinder with wires and bolts everywhere that really doesn’t look like the blueprint diagrams for a mechanic arm that they drew up nearly a month ago. 

It doesn’t feel like it’s been a month since their time on the beach, but with everything that happened, the diagrams lay discarded on Echo’s work bench for weeks. Echo, distraught by the loss of Ahsoka, had dug up the plans and started working on them very early in the morning. Or late at night, depending on the point of view. His stream of work and thought had descended into a mess, and Kix had woken up to about ten phone calls from his brother. The calls had ranged from questions on how nerves connect to each other to requests for coffee. When he had called back Echo had demanded that he come down to the mechanics laboratory. 

The thing he had seen when he entered was Echo, sitting on his spinning chair, holding a mug of coffee in one hand and a half-finished hydraulic finger construction in the other. He had waved the fingers around, pulling out all the rude gestures, demonstrating how they could be controlled by miniscule motions of an arm. Kix had noticed the tear tracks still staining Echo’s face, and the little box of tools on his desk that read property of Ahsoka Tano, do not touch. He had noticed them and chosen to ignore them, knowing that anything might set off his brother.

In the two weeks that had passed since the first step, Echo hasn’t gotten any less emotional, choosing instead to channel emotions into his work. Kix had caught him crying into his cereal once while Hunt stole his coffee. The first, and best, way to calm Echo down is to put an equation in front of him. Or a problem he can solve.

“Tell me what you’ve done, and why it won’t work.” Kix sighs, leaning over the books.

“I joined the two parts and connected the wires. And now it won’t turn on or anything. The battery is screwed as well. It’s not that much to ask for the fucking thing to work is it?” Echo peels his head off the table and rubs his head. The stains of grease and black stuff that Kix can’t even name is all across his forehead, fingerprints next to his eyes. “Helix, you will be my favourite cousin in the family if you could possibly go get that wrench.” Helix sighs and rolls his eyes, untangling his legs and grabbing the wrench.

“Did you notice that you dented the wall?” Kix remarks. Echo’s mouth drops into a perfect o, then he shrugs and takes the wrench. 

“Nobody is going to know.”

“They’re gonna know.” Helix takes a deep sip of his coffee, raising his eyebrows.

“Nobody is gonna know!” Echo tries to snatch the coffee off Helix, who yanks out a small knife and glares his cousin down. 

“Do you want to test me? At this point, I have more caffeine then blood in my system. Get your own damn coffee!” Helix sounds too hyper for two am and Kix is slightly pissed off at how he won’t share his coffee. 

“But I need coffee if I want to figure out this bastard.” Echo sounds kind of pathetic. It concerns Kix and he shoves off the table, grabbing a wallet from Echo’s bag.  
“I’m going to get coffee, but I am using your card.”

“That’s fine with me. A long black with an extra shot please.” Echo’s eyes light up again once that he has some promise of coffee. “Great. I’m going to see if R2-D2 is up yet.” 

“I don’t know why you insist on calling Professor Deeto that name. It’s ridiculous.” Helix rolls over in his chair and blinks at his other cousin. “Do you think you could get me a pack of chips and a cappuccino? Actually, a latte with a hazelnut and vanilla shot. Or a muffin? A muffin might be a bit too morning though, so chips please.” 

“It’s fucking two am. That’s the morning dumbass. Also, how the fuck is that thing even a coffee?” Kix growls and Helix’s eyes pop open.

“It’s two am?” He almost shrieks it and Kix sighs, deciding to leave while he still has his eardrums. Echo’s response is quiet.

The vending machine and coffee machine are just down the hall, one person standing in front of both. With a start, Kix realises it’s exactly who he wanted to avoid. Anakin Skywalker. As much as it pains Kix to admit it, he is always confused by the other boy. He switches emotions insanely fast, won’t eat or sleep for like a week because he’s working, then have to be dragged away from whatever robotics project he just started. Echo always went on and on about Anakin’s projects, and how he gets along so well with Professor Deeto. Anakin manages to pull his attention away from whatever game is in his hand enough to say hello. What confuses Kix even more is that he only has one hand. That really stumps him for a second before he realises that the prosthetic is off and Anakin is both balancing and playing on a game at the same time in one hand. 

“Hi.” Anakin smiles slightly. Kix nods back, gesturing at the machine. 

“Mind if I cut in and get some stuff?” Kix asks, pulling the sleeves on his hoodie up.

“Oh sure. I was going to order some chips or something but this level is really hard and I want to beat it.” He jerks his chin at the game, brows furrowed in concentration. Kix nods and checks the vending machine. Helix’s favourite brand of chips are there and he presses 14 on the keypad, looking for chocolate. The chocolate Smarties that Jango used to buy a big bag of every weekend and give them out to the kids while binge watching movies seem like a good idea. He taps 7 and double checks the other items. Knowing Echo, he’s about to have a crash, and that explains the need for caffeine, but he needs some actual food.

“Trying to find something for Echo?” Anakin says. For such a large man, Anakin is still quiet. Kix manages to just avoid finding the scalpel in his hoodie, nodding mutely in an attempt to swallow down the swear words that sprung to mind. “Number 4. He always gets number 4 when we’re doing late night study sessions and he needs food.” Kix hits the button and presses finish, pulling out Echo’s wallet and finding a twenty dollar note, trying to feed it in. The second the note enters it the vending machine lets out a little hiss and shudders. Anakin lets out a deep sigh, sliding his game onto the bench. 

“It’s been doing that an awful lot lately.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out small screwdriver, crouching down and poking it into a screw.

“Will the university get mad if we mess around with a vending machine?” Kix steps around him, entering two long blacks, one with an extra shot and a latte with the extra flavouring into the machine. It starts up without swallowing him money and the smell of coffee fills the air. “Do you want anything?” Anakin, still crouched on the floor, holding a panel open with his stump while using the screwdriver in the other hand, shakes his head. 

“Nah, the University often lets me fix things because they’re too lazy to do it themselves. And Padme doesn’t let me have coffee after eleven because I can’t sleep at all if I do.” A screw slides free and he pokes in one finger, trying to figure out what blocked it. “Could you possibly use the torch on your phone for me for a minute? I can’t see for shit.” 

“Sure.” Kix says, pulling his phone free and crouching next to Anakin, turning on the torch and shining it into the gap. Anakin fiddles with the screwdriver, removing another screw and pulling the whole panel off the machine. 

“I see the problem. Some dickhead did the old gum trick to try and get out of paying. What a bastard. Clog up the machine for the rest of us? How mean.” He huffs, using the end of the screwdriver to drag it out and deposit it in the bin.

“Oh my. Anakin, what on earth are you doing?” A worried voice cuts in from behind the pair, Anakin whipping around with a guilty expression on his face. Kix looks over his shoulder and stands up.

“Threepio! Am I glad to see you!” Anakin smiles at the Linguistics, Speech and English Literature Professor, ignoring the worried look on the sandy blonde-haired man’s face. 

“Anakin, do I want to know what you’re doing?” Cee Threepio rubs at his forehead. “Actually no, if you tell me then I have to pretend that I don’t know whatever you have broken this time. If I am forced to lie to Deeto because of you again, I swear that I will… Honestly, I don’t know what I’ll do, but I will tell Padme.” His threat hits deep and Anakin puts on his best pleading expression. 

“Threepio, I swear that I’m just fixing the machine. Nothing bad, just fixing it. Please don’t tell Padme.” He blurts out the sentence and stands up, kicking the panel shut and placing the screws back in. He hits the button and it whirs again, taking in the full note and beeping. The chips and chocolate fall and the change pops out. Kix picks up the change and drops it back into Echo’s wallet, bending down and gathering the sweet and salty food into his arms. The coffee machine lets out a near identical beep and he dumps the stuff onto the bench, pulling a cardboard tray. The first coffee he labels monstrosity with the marker, dropping it onto the tray. The darker coffee is Echo’s and he labels it bitch, before labelling his own amazing. The chips and chocolate drop onto the tray as well and he turns to grin at Anakin.

“Thanks Anakin.” He smiles, beginning to walk away when Anakin gently taps the back of his shin with his foot. 

“Hey, can you let Echo know that I’m worried about him? He’s been spending so much in the library and I don’t know what he’s doing, but I know that he was close with Ahsoka and it’s going to affect him badly. I know that you and him are up to something, and I don’t want to know. Just tell him I’m worried. Can you do that?” Anakin rambles, rubbing at the stump of his arm anxiously.

“Of course Anakin.” Anakin nods, a grin forming as he turns back to Professor Threepio, who still has his hand over his face, looking like he would rather be anywhere but in the corridor with Anakin. 

At the library, the state of the table has regressed to primitive. Helix is now lying on the floor with a stack of notes on nerves and how to replicate them. Echo is curled in his chair, poking at the arm cylinder. He shoots up from the chair, eyes lighting up as he sees the coffee. The arm gets hurled back onto the table as he leaps off the chair and over to the tray, snatching up the coffee labelled bitch, before grabbing the Smarties. 

“Hands of my Smarties bastard.” Kix feels himself growl the word and Echo nods, dropping the box and grabbing a chocolate bar and the pack of his favourite chips. He flies back into his chair, almost fully reanimated as he chugs down the coffee with ease. The chocolate and chips follow and he seems to lift off the chair for half a second, grabbing the arm and a screwdriver. 

“R2-D2 popped by. I’d crossed up the wires and it screwed with the whole system. He fixed it and it’s working now. And he helped me fix the fingers and do the wrist cuff. Now all I gotta do is fix up the lose parts, adjust the way wires connect to the nervous system and bam, it’s all done.” He announces the words with a grin, grabbing for the bolt pin and stabbing it through. 

“Fake skin?” Helix reminds, still flopped on the floor with his chips. “I had to convince Professor Che to give me a bit of the University stash for this shit. We better use it.” Echo nods and pops another screw into place.

“So how long until it’s done?” Kix asks, tossing a Smartie at Helix, who bites it out of mid-air. 

‘Give me a week maximum.” 

Anakin’s phone beeps and he reaches for it. His prosthetic lies next to him, spanner and screwdriver discarded near by it. The text is from Echo. 

Echo

Echo: Check your workbench in the lab, left something for you.

Knowing Echo, it will probably explode when he puts it on or opens it. Anakin jumps up and looks back at his prosthetic. His brain twists and he decides to leave it, the straps too difficult to do up sometimes. The corridors are pretty much abandoned, everyone at whatever fancy party is going on at this point. Padme was out at dinner with some friends from the other universities. The door to the labs is open already and he makes a beeline straight to his desk where a black box sits.

Anakin almost jumps into his chair and spins around a few times, before flicking on the light and undoing the ribbon around the box with his one hand. The ribbon falls away and he lifts up the lid. His breath stops in his throat and he forgets how to breathe. A beautiful prosthetic sits in the box, fake skin wrapped tightly around the arm. It gleams under the light and he lifts it out reverently, cradling it in his elbow. A note flutters free from the fingers and he lifts it up, peering at it. 

Anakin  
When we were at the beach, your arm was annoying you. So, we made a new one. It’s fingers are hydraulic, so it can grip almost anything. The fake skin is erasable, and you can write notes on it without ruining it. The wires inside connect to some nerve endings in your stump, so you can tell whether objects are hot or cold and feel basic textural features. It’s waterproof and weatherproof, so you can use it in the rain or at the beach without it short circuiting. The arm doesn’t attach via straps, it attaches magnetically. It will stay on no matter what. Might want to practise throw ins and holding basic tools though. And we trademarked this and are going to patent it, so don’t you dare steal our idea.  
Kix, Echo and Helix

The tear slips out before Anakin even realises he’s crying. A drop of water speckles the paper, followed by another and another. The arm is perfect. It’s a work of art and he wants to cry even more. It would’ve taken weeks and weeks, even to just get the plan for it. The fake skin is the exact shade as his and he slips the magnetic joiner into his arm brace. The other magnetic joiner in the prosthetic clicks into place and he gasps. Holy shit. It looks like and feels like an arm. The wires that poke a bit into his arm are different and he turns his wrist over and over, staring at the smooth skin. Unblemished. The fingers that he moves via hydraulics, that actually click and snap and bend instead of being straight and flat. The fingers that hurt when he hits them into the desk, the fingers that can feel the warmth of the light. It’s been so long. Anakin slides off his chair and hits the ground, tears still streaming down his face as he presses his back against the desk and his hands into his face. The tears feel wet against his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly didn't post this week because exams start today. Next Chapter will be about Ahsoka and her journey. I did some research on prosthetics, but my knowledge isn't that great, so let me know if there is anything I need to change.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka alone. Ahoska Tano is strugling to adapt to life away from her closest friends. Sometimes the fires are just too strong

The fire surrounds her, smoke working its way through her lungs, slowly suffocating her. Melia’s screams ring in her ears, the girl yelling at everyone to move and get out, holding a hand across the gap while flames consume her. The tears streaking down Melia’s face dry up from the flames as they lick up her body and cover her face. A flame flickers across her vision, sudden pain lancing through all her limbs, tears rolling down her face as she shoots awake, a scream building in her throat. 

Ahsoka wakes up to quiet. It scares her, worries her until she rolls and flips on the light. The Mandolore dorm is so different to what she is used to. Bright white walls sit in her vision and she wipes her face, at the salty tears covering her blurry eyes. The fiery pain whipping through her body calms down, muscles relaxing from the sudden urge to run and scream and help her friends and just break down. The scream in her chest sinks back down, uneven breathing and soaring pulse combining to form the fear that is now abating. 

“I’m OK. Melia is OK. We got out in time. Everyone is alright. I am safe.” She whispers, curling back into the covers, tears staining her face dripping onto the bed. The bear Bo Katan gave her sits on her nightstand is within her reach and she grabs it, burying her arms around the small bear. It’s wearing the hoodie of the best Women’s team in the country. It is her reminder of what she wants to be. Her and Bo Katan share the same goal. Play for the Women’s league. She wishes to push herself and play for them. Melia had shared that dream. If she even wanted to play soccer anymore. If she could even enter the club anymore without breaking down and crying. If only she still even had a guarantee that she would be at least kind of alright in the future.

“I’m OK. Melia is OK. We got out in time. Everyone is alright. I am safe.” Ahsoka repeats. It suddenly surges through her mind that she should check if Rook is still asleep. Their shared dorm had awoken on the first night of rooming with Ahsoka’s screams. The screams of someone who is locked inside their head and burning. The screams of someone who doesn’t know if anything will be certain. The screams of someone who is scared for their lives and their friends. 

Rook had stormed in, hair spiking up in all directions, seen Ahsoka crying, and left again. She returned minutes later, two streaming mugs of Hot Chocolate in her hands and a tissue box. Ahsoka had apologised again and again for waking her, but the stubborn girl had taken none of her apologies, rubbing her back and talking till morning, making Ahsoka swear that she would come to Rook if she needed comfort. Ahsoka had made a promise to herself to never wake or bother Rook, but the Nite Owl tended to literally be a night owl, staying up late and often, a sketchbook and drawing tablet sitting on her desk under a stark light. She was studying art, and visual motion, spending all hours curled up sketching new designs for statues or drawing soccer plays.

It’s not fair to her. To have a new roommate after a few years, especially a roommate who once challenged her to a fight on the soccer pitch. A roommate who wakes up screaming and crying and breaking into a million pieces. A roommate who just wants to be secure and happy. One who wants time to be safe and free from Republic. From responsibilities or people looming over her. From Tarkin, who for some reason was out to get her. From Anakin.   
Anakin who wanted to protect her and help her. Anakin who just wanted her to be happy. As her thoughts turn into hurting ideas that consume her, she opens her eyes and focuses on the wall opposite her. Nothing is on there yet. A stack of cut photos and fairy lights sit on her desk, ready for her to pin them up. She couldn’t. The second Ahsoka had started putting them up she had cried herself into a broken ball of tissues and tear stained cheeks.

“I’m OK. Melia is OK. We got out in time. Everyone is alright. I am safe.” Ahsoka whispers, pressing her face into the blankets. Those words had become her mantra, keeping her together when the darkness inside threatened to overwhelm her. She curls back down, turning off the light and rolling onto her side, letting the tears seep into the pillow case, strands of blue and white dyed hair flopping in her face as she closes her eyes and pulls the bear closer, silencing her breathing and focusing on the roof.

The sun filters through her blinds, shining in her eyes. Ahsoka gets up mechanically, racing through the shower and re-braiding her hair. A pair of mom jeans and a tucked in red shirt make her look somewhat organised, yet tear marks stains remain on her face. Little flecks of glitter still dot her face from the makeup she wore to the party. It seems like years ago that she went to the party with Melia, Hunt and Fives. Ahsoka quickly lines her eyes, choosing a silver liner that causes her large blue eyes to pop out. The black mascara contrasts with the silver, simple pale pink lip gloss smeared on her lips. Her stomach growls angrily and she walks into the kitchen. Rook is already up, sitting on the counter, fishnet stockings standing out against her pale legs. Her purple hair sits up in spikes, hanging through the large silver hoops swinging from her ears. Her coffee cup sits on the counter next to her, drawing tablet on her lap.

“Coffee is on the counter.” She says, not even looking up from her work, sipping from her cup. Ahsoka nods, grabbing the coffee pot and moving to pour it into the cup. The one Obi Wan gave her for her last birthday. It has a picture stuck on the side. This one has the whole Defenders team on it, the girls all in the bright uniforms, hair messed up, mud and dirt smeared on their legs. Melia has one of her arms wrapped around Ahsoka’s shoulder, the other arm around Bultar. Ahsoka herself is leaning mainly on Barriss, the girl adjusting her headscarf while smiling at the camera. The rest of the girls are in various states of chaos, Aayla sitting on Adi Gallia’s back, Katooni and Ganodi kneeling on the ground, nearly falling over. Tiplar and Tiplee are on either side of Stass Allie. The photo is perfect. A perfect photo of a perfect memory. A memory now clouded by worry and fear and tainted thoughts.

“You all good?” Rook asks, tilting her head up from her tablet, an unspoken question hanging in the air.

“Yes.” She replies, voice cracking as she slides the cup back onto the shelf. 

“Try the red one.” Rook points up to the shelf, a red cup with painted patterns all over the side sitting next to the other cups. Ahsoka nods and pulls it down, filling it up with coffee, stirring in a spoonful of sugar.

“A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” She whispers, tipping the coffee back and drinking as much as she can in one gulp. It burns her tongue and she nearly spits it out, the bitter taste scarring her mouth. Rook’s special brew then. At this point, Ahsoka wouldn't be suprised to learn that there is vodka in there. It all goes down the sink before Ahsoka grabs her bag and steps out the door, making sure her computer and books are in there, checking for the keys and phone. Keys are there, phone is there. 

“Soccer at one.” Rook says in her most monotone voice, pointing to the bag of balls in the corner. Bo-Katan had dropped them off the night before, saying there wasn’t enough room in her and Ursa’s dorm. \

“Yep. My lecture finishes at 12.” She walks out, adjusting the strap of her bag. The hallways have lights on, actual lights that don’t send jumping shadows all over the path. Walls of glass patterns send glowing warm spots on the hallway, blue in all shades swirling all over Ahsoka, as she walks out of the hallway and down the stairs. The lecture hall is all the way on the other side of the gardens. The intricate swirling patterns of the flowerbeds confuse her and she stomps through, ignoring the kissing couples in the centre of the maze. The labs should be open by now and the lecturer would be ready to start.

Her braids jump up and down as she runs, Nite Owls hoodie and shorts swishing from side to side. Ursa Wren easily keeps place with her, hair pinned back by an impressive assortment of bobby pins and scrunchies. Bo Katan runs in front of them, her ridiculously long hair looking like a stain of blood. Rook is way behind them, retying her shoelaces. 

“Ahsoka. Ahsoka.” Someone repeats, voice raising. She snaps up, looking at Ursa, who is stopped, stretching out her legs. “Bo Katan called a break. Stretch it out.” Ursa leans down, neatly touching her toes and relaxes there, holding the position. Ahsoka quickly snaps herself into a similar position, feeling the pull in the back of her thighs. Bo Katan walks over, stretchy blue singlet and matching shorts standing out against her sharp look.

“Tano. Come over here. We need to practise passing through the gaps while running.” She gestures to the three cones set up, a perfect triangle. “You know the triangle drill? Gap shot?” Ahsoka shakes her head and grabs a ball. “What do they even teach you at Republic? Get on a cone.” She walks over and stand behind a cone, passing the ball from side to side. “Alright. You pass it through the gap between these cones. I am running and I intercept it, then run to the blue cone. You start running to the next cone and I pass to you, you intercept it and run. Got it?” Ahsoka nods and passes the ball to Bo Katan, who is halfway between the cones, stopping it and dribbling on to the next cone. The second Bo Katan hits the cone Ahsoka starts running. The ball Bo hits slams into her shins, and she struggles to try and keep it under control, nearly tripping flat on her face as she fumbles the ball, passing it horribly.

“That was terrible.” Bo Katan steps on the ball, stopping it and fixing Ahsoka with her best stare. Her green eyes pierce through Ahsoka’s façade of calmness. “Shit. Ahsoka you look terrible.” She says flat out, brushing her loose hair back from her head, pulling on a silver headband with green stripes. She steps closer, tilting her head to the side and observing her friend. The bags underneath her eyes tell her all she needs to know. “Another night? Ahsoka? Really?” Her voice is almost pleading, as if trying to beg Ahsoka to not be worried. 

“I can’t help it Bo. Everything is different.” She whispers, pushing her braids back. 

“Did Rook help? Because we can transfer her away from you if we need to.” Bo Katan interrupts, grasping Ahsoka’s hand.

“I didn’t want to disturb Rook. And I don’t want to be moved away from her. I trust her.” They turn and look over at Rook, who is currently shooting at the goals, slamming the ball into all corners of the net with surprising ferocity. The goalie knees it away with a crack and both girls wince. 

“She is too far into Saxon’s pocket for me to trust her. You should do the same. Saxon is bad news.” Rook kicks it again, cracking it into the top corner of the net and then visibly smirks, crossing her arms and twirling away from the goalie. 

“I trust Rook. She calms me down and with everything that has happened, I need a friend. Please Bo. Let her be.” Ahsoka flicks the ball into the air, catching it and almost hugging it to her chest. She counts her breaths. In two three four, out six seven eight. 

“OK Ahsoka. I will not force you and her to separate rooms yet. I promise. But you need to find something to do.” Bo Katan sighs, rubbing her forehead.

“What do you mean? I’m here and playing soccer, aren’t I?” She says indignantly, dropping the ball and passing it to Bo Katan, running to the cone. 

“Yes. You are. But we’re worried about you. Do you have a job? You could get a job?” Bo suggests, jumping to deflect the ball to the ground. 

“I don’t know what I would do.” Ahsoka knees it up, doing a neat header that hits Bo Katan’s feet.

“Well what are you good at?” She asks, twirling around a cone and passing the ball back. 

“I don’t know.” Bo’s eyebrow raises, the slit in the red twisting up. Ahsoka sighs and turns around a cone, doing a neat air ball. “I can do anything with mechanics pretty easily. Maths? Physical things? I can do some things but they aren’t too hard. I suck at cooking. Cars? I can fix prosthetics because Anakin would break his every week. But otherwise the thing that comes to mind is repairs.” 

“Well that’s a start.” She mutters, intercepting the ball on her chest and kneeing it back. “Wait. There is a car garage near here. Like a maximum 500 metres walk. I think they’re hiring. It’s called the Larte garage. Run by a girl around our age. You should check it out.” Bo Katan suggests, adjusting her hairband with one hand. 

“That seems cool. I’ll check it out later.” Bo nods and blows the whistle around her neck.

“Run it in girls! Time for mirrors! Last one in runs a lap!” She yells, putting on her best evil grin ever. Ahsoka hates mirrors. The exercise involves mirroring the exact movements of your partner, including the twirls and footwork that they do perfectly. Melia had similarly cursed when Shaak Ti had made them do the exercise. And it always results in twisted ankles and broken knees. Melia had fully skidded and rolled her knee after a particularly rough turn with Bultar Swan. Rook starts towards Ahsoka and cracks her knuckles menacingly, before breaking into a smile and moving a metre in front of her.

“Come on Ahsoka. I won’t go easy on you this time.”

“That was you going easy on me? What, do you think I can’t handle you?” Ahsoka remembers the last time she played Rook, the stubborn player refusing to budge an inch, even with the full force of Ahsoka’s training. She tucks the thoughts of job and distractions into the back of her brain, focusing on the movements of her partner. 

Thighs burning with pain from the constant running, Ahsoka kicks open the door with her non injured foot, wincing at the slight blossom of pain in her hip. It would be a miracle if there weren’t bruises in the shape of studs on her foot tomorrow. A to-do list sits in the back of her head. Her bags fall to the floor as she whips out her phone. Three missed calls. All from Anakin. Four texts from Melia. She ignores them, pushing her door open with her shoulder before collapsing onto her bed. The laptop on her nightstand is pulled onto the pillow. The website for the Larte garage fills Ahsoka’s computer screen with a few clicks, a black and white background with little photos of the garage and cars that they have fixed. Larte Garage is written across the top in a plain font, a tiny phone number beneath it. It looks like the kind of place Ahsoka would love to work, a mess of tools and objects scattered across the workbenches, engine oil and motor stains scattered across the floor. It’s listed under one Mr and Ms Larte. Doesn’t seem like Bo-Katan was correct in saying that a girl their age ran it but gossip did tend to blow things out of proportion sometimes. The address is nearby and Ahsoka snatches up a pen, scrawling the address across the back of her hand in running black ink. The key to unlock her bike is right there and she debates it for a second. Ride for three minutes and anger her already broken thighs or walk there with minimum effort then relax. Walking totally wins this time. 

The cool air envelops her as she walks, earphones swinging from one ear. A ton of swearing suddenly breaks the silence and she turns to look into the garage, pulling the other earbud out. A girl around her age slides out from under a car, wrench in one hand. Her mass of dark braids are held back in a ponytail that swings in her face as she stands up, kicking the wheel of the car angrily. 

“Stupid hunk of junk!” She yells, annoyance twinging her tone. A few stray large box braids fly lose from her ponytail and she smacks them out of her face with annoyance, nose scrunched up as the grease staining her hands smears across her nose. Her white singlet is equally stained, a towel tossed on the ground behind her. Her thick black pants have the Larte Garage logo stitched onto the back pocket and Ahsoka quickly looks at the sign near the car. Larte Garage, Open seven days.

“Excuse me?” Ahsoka clears her throat and waves awkwardly. The girl stands bolt upright, wrench slipping from her grip and dropping directly onto her foot.

“Oh mother-“ She yelps, hopping around on her uninjured foot. Ahsoka just stands there, watching as she attempts to put down her foot, only to land on top of the sliding board and fall to the ground, landing on her back, braids dropping into her face. 

“Hi. I saw that you guys were hiring and I wanted to apply.” Ahsoka grins at her, offering a hand to haul her to her feet. The girl looks up at her, face completely unimpressed. One hand flicks up, swatting Ahsoka’s out of the way and in the same fluid motion, pushing her braids back. 

“I don’t need help.” She spits out, rolling onto the slider and grabbing the wrench again, slipping back under the car. Half of her body disappears under it, both of her legs sticking out.

“There was an ad? I need a job and I like machines and cars.” Ahsoka scans her gaze over the car, watching the girl out of the corner of her eye as she sticks a hand out, reaching for the toolbox. Her fingers just can’t reach and Ahsoka bends down, sliding the screwdriver over to her.

“Thanks.” She says absently, grabbing it and undoing the screw. A moment passes then she realises, sliding back out from under the car, head tilted.

“What was it you wanted again?” She asks, twirling the screwdriver in one hand. 

“A job.” Ahsoka says, almost bouncing on her toes. “Can I talk to the owner? Are they your parents?” The girl’s face freezes and she blinks, tears welling up and dissipating in seconds.

“My name is Kaeden Larte. I am the owner. My parents are dead.” Kaeden snaps her words, spare hand moving up to her neck and the pendant on it.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Ahsoka feels all the air move out of her lungs.

“Why are you sorry? Unless you are somehow the bastard who broke in and killed them, it isn’t your fault.” She slides back under the car, making sure not to roll on her braids.

“Right. Sorry.” The pause becomes unbearable to both of them and Kaeden rolls back out.

“You said you wanted a job, right? What kinda stuff?” She leans off the roller and sits up.

“I can file stuff or paperwork. I also know how to work on engines mainly, and motorbikes. Motorbikes are like the only thing I really practised don.” Kaeden’s eyes light up and she grins. 

“Motorbikes huh? Well, I have two in the back that I have no idea how to fix. Wanna take a crack at them?” 

“As part of a job?” Ahsoka says cautiously.

“Of course. You’re not going to be a wall decoration sweetie. I don’t have enough money to hire you constantly, but if you work Monday and Wednesday nights and Sunday days? Would that be OK?” She asks, plucking another spanner from her bag and tapping it against her thigh as she stands up and grabs her keys to the back.

“That’s great. I have soccer Friday and Saturday, so that would work for me.” 

“Cool. Now let’s have a look at these bikes.” Kaeden holds the door open for Ahsoka to go through, smiling. Ahsoka’s matching smile grows, a tiny blush speckling her cheeks. Maybe Bo-Katan was right for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and comments, they always make my day :)


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next game between the Defenders and the Nite Owls is painful to both sides, multiple injuries caused. But if anything, it hurts everyone's hearts more.

The game is going horribly, the Defenders in front by 2 goals at halftime. Ahsoka, down on the bench next to Bo-Katan, is visibly distressed, pacing angrily. Bo-Katan is stressed, having had a bad start to the game. Her fists are clenched, and her stance is tense, glaring down at the turf beneath her dirt streaked boots. A line of dirt is smeared on her blue socks, the Captain having had to dive for the ball and had accidently slipped on the grass, sliding off the field after tackling Bultar Swan. The slightly smaller Republic midfield had taken on Bo-Katan and tried to steal the ball from her. Bo-Katan had turned her back, accidently letting Bultar get her foot on the ball, who had almost immediately taken her chance and raced up the line. Bo-Katan, desperate to regain control in front of the crowd, had slid into a tackle, booting the ball straight out from under her feet. The girl had crashed down, nearly landing on top of Bo, who managed to roll out of the way. The resulting marks, both dirt and bruises, stain her legs. Ahsoka, for the first time Cody can remember, has her hair out of its double braids for a soccer game. A single Dutch braid swings down her back, matching Bo-Katan similarly done red hair. Ursa Wren sits at the end of the bench, long dark hair pulled into a fancy braided knot at the back of her head, slanted eyes focused on the coach, who is talking to the assembled girls. Rook, Ahsoka’s new roommate, has her short and spiky dyed hair floating free around her furious face, a bruise blooming on her cheek from a collision with Katooni. Ahsoka had nearly cheered for her old wing, grief welling in her throat as she realised once again that they are no longer her team.

The Defenders aren’t happy about the fact they are in front. Melia sits crumpled on the grass, leaning back against the bench while Ruby, one of the new members and an old friend, plays with her braids. Ruby slots perfectly into the defensive line, filling the empty space where Barriss used to fit, the team still reeling from her actions. A girl from the junior team, Indigo, was placed into Ahsoka’s old position, and is playing a bit cautiously, struggling to meet her team’s expectations formed by Ahsoka’s past performance. Bultar holds an icepack to her ankle, Katooni rubbing her sore elbow. Ganodi leans on Katooni, the young girls curling around each other for support. Tiplar and Tiplee pace together, trying to work off the energy rush from the insane amount of coffee they had drunk earlier in the day. Shaak Ti sits before them, rubbing her forehead anxiously. Melia breaks the nervous silence first.

“It doesn’t feel right.” Melia whispers softly, sitting upright and tying her laces again. Her soft face is red tinted, from the exertion of the game. She looks around at her teammates and sighs. “You all know what I mean. Playing Ahsoka. A week ago, we were fighting with her as a team. Now we have to beat her, and we don’t want to.” She pauses, watching as the other team members nod and look to the coach. Shaak Ti closes her eyes, breathing in and out slowly and in a pattern. She opens her eyes, looks at her waiting players.

“OK. Second half. We are up by 2 goals. Good job on those by the way ladies. Stass, nice cross and Katooni, nice assist to Indigo. We don’t need to really score anymore. So, we just play defensive and make sure they don’t get to our goals. They have a strong attack and they tend to wait for their Captain to call the shots. Adi, you control our attack. Aayla is the Captain, so back line and mid listen to her. Aayla, when you get the ball, clear it to midfield. Melia, you run the back if Aayla can’t. We are in front so try and keep it that way.” She rattles off, counting her points on her fingers while pacing in front of the team. The ref calls something and everyone stands, walking to their set positions. The whistle blows and Bo-Katan passes it back to Ursa and the match restarts.

Cody is on the seats, crammed between Wolffe and Rex. His annoying cousin takes up the space of 2 people, leaning against the benches. Rex and Cody are squished against each other, Rex having Jesse on the opposite side. Kix sits next to Jesse, the Medic packed between Jesse and Fives, who simply grabbed his brother in a headlock when he tried to persuade them to move over with the pointy end of a scalpel. Echo is next to him, quietly talking to Helix about something. The other Fett kids are scattered, watching the game eagerly.  
Cody rummages through his pocket and pulls out some money, shrugging at the amount. 

“I’m going to go get food. Text me when the game starts again. Anyone want me to get food for them?” He asks. Heads snap up all around him and he mentally curses his offer, watching someone procure paper and scribble down a list, all while they hand him money. Ponds stands, refusing the offer and pulls Mace to his feet beside him, going to get ice cream sandwiches. The list in Cody’s hand grows and grows, causing him to groan every time another thing is added.

He walks down the pathway, making his way to the food area. A variety of trucks cluster outside. He checks the list, making a note of what food items he can get from each truck. He makes a beeline to a pizza truck, seeing the fact that the Wolfpack and Torrent wanted pizza. Cody orders 4 large ones, knowing that the appetite of his family is large. He moves from truck to truck, getting sushi for Fox, a large set of waffle fries for Bly, a slushie for Kix, a bunch of donuts to share, ranging from vanilla to chocolate icing and even a mixed berry one, waffles for Helix and fried spring rolls and dumplings for Waxer and Boil. 

He checks off the last item, looking around and realising he hasn’t gotten anything for himself. The menu on the first truck he visited looks good, offering something called Arancini Balls with curly fries. The person taking the order smiles at him, talking sweetly. The stack of pizza boxes and assorted other containers wobble in his arms and he plops them down on a nearby table. His phone pings quietly and he checks it. The message is from Rex, telling him to hurry up and the game is starting again. Cody automatically rolls his eyes, walking back to the food truck and picking up the Arancini Balls and curly fries. They add to the pile in his arms, nearly dropping everything. He sighs, leaning back from the food to balance it. 

On his way back he passes Anakin and Padme, holding hands. Anakin’s clunky prosthetic is gone, instead a sleek one covered in fake skin takes it’s place. Behind them is Obi, Cody’s ex-boyfriend walking after his friends with a very tired and sad expression. His face is puffy and red, tear marks staining his cheeks. He snaps up and looks at Cody, sorrow in his expression. He slowly turns, walking towards his former boyfriend. Cody wants to kiss him, hug him, cry over him. He doesn’t get the chance

“Cody! You need help with those?” Wolffe interrupts their silent conversation, sprinting down the stairs and grabbing for some of the containers, finally noticing the person in the way. “Kenobi. Haven’t you hurt my cousin enough?” He asks bitterly, eyeing the smaller man. Anakin appears to notice the loss of his friend, doubling back and yelling to him.

“Obi! You coming?” He says loudly and the tension snaps, Obi turning, tears welling in his eyes again. Cody turns to his cousin, handing some food over. They walk back to the others in silence, awkwardly sharing the weight of the food. The group snaps up when they get back, snatching the food they ordered while the game starts again. The Wolfpack snatches their pizza, tearing into it with a viciousness of an actual pack of wolves. His siblings, Torrent, grab their own shared pizza, eating as fast as they can. Cody dumps the other food down on the bench, sitting down and passing out the boxes. Mace and Ponds arrive just after him, sharing an ice cream sandwich. Kix swipes his slushie and a donut. Rex leans over, pulling a slice of the cheesy pizza from the box and biting into it.

Cody ignores him, opening his own box of food. He picks up a fry, eating it and looking at the Arancini Balls. The crisp breadcrumbs on the outside are brown and mask the creamy risotto on the inside. He pulls it apart, hissing at the cloud of steam that floods into the air. The melted cheese drips over his fingers, he bites into the centre, sighing at the perfect taste. His mood is unfortunately interrupted by Wolffe, having lost control of the pizza box, swipes a handful of chips and an Arancini Ball. Cody squawks in annoyance, smacking at his cousins’ hand with a irritated expression. Wolffe freezes guiltily and drops a single fry. Cody glares at him, watching as Wolffe’s expression fades to slight worry.

“Sorry?” He says nervously. “Look Cody. Back there, with Obi Wan, I wasn’t thinking. Did you want me to not intervene? Because I still want to slap that bastard.” He leans forward, pulling another chip free. Cody pauses, the very mention of Obi Wan throwing his train of thought out the window. The tear stains on his face and the puffiness around his eyes had pulled Cody out of his beliefs. Bo-Katan had given him perspective on why what happened did happen. 

“It’s OK. I need to talk to him anyway. And you saw what he looked like.” He points out, biting into another Arancini Ball. Wolffe grimaces, wincing at his statement.

“Yeah. He looked like shit. Almost even worse than you did when you were crying over him. I didn’t know that anyone could trump that.” He says softly. Cody laughs slightly, eating more fries. A yell from down on the field secures his attention and he whips around to see Melia clutching her knee and glaring at a Nite Owl who slid into her and knocked her over. The Defender girl is sprawled on the grass, holding her knee with an expression of pure outrage.

Shaak Ti stands up, angrily yelling at the referee. Fives, sitting next to Jesse, shoots to his feet, leaping down the stairs and arguing with the pitch manager, pointing to his injured girl. She is helped up by Tiplar and Tiplee, the twins under her arms and helping her hop off the field. Asoka appears to want to follow, held back by Ursa, who nods to the ref and the ball. Melia tilts her head back, seeing her friend and smiling slightly as she is placed next to the bench, flopping on the ground with an icepack that was tossed to her by Shaak Ti as she crouches next to her best defender.   
Fives, finally passing around the manager, skids to a stop beside them, leaning against his girl and gently kissing her forehead, pulling the lose strands of hair off her face and pushing it behind her headband. She leans back into him, letting Shaak Ti wrap her knee in the icepack. The slight wince she makes is noticeable even from the stands. The game kicks off again, Ahsoka booting the ball down to goals. Melia crumples into Fives softly, him wrapping his arms around her gently. The game continues in a blur, the Defenders not only scoring another goal but effectively keeping the ball away from their own goals.

The game ends on a high, Ahsoka tackling Bultar and managing an excellent clearing shot that Aayla had to swerve to catch. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy to see the Defenders win. Satine Kryze stands angrily on the side lines, arms crossed, pure fury on her face. Her long blond hair lies over her shoulders, straightened to perfection. The teams shake hands, everyone automatically moving into groups. Ahsoka looks down, shaking her head at Bo-Katan, tears clear in her eyes. Melia, leaning heavily on Fives, limps over to Ahsoka, brushing her hand against her friend’s, shaking her hand gently. Then she lunges forward, wrapping her arms around her best friend, tears falling softly as she buries her face into Ahsoka’s new uniform. Fives steps backwards, letting them have a moment. As if inspired by Melia, one by one the Defenders move forwards and join the hug, until the ball of embracing people crumple, all leaning on each other, curling into the biggest group hug.   
Bo-Katan stands awkwardly on the outside, walking over to the sidelines. Satine leaps forward, grabbing her braid and yanking her head down. The scattered gasps hit Cody as he leaps to his feet, racing toward the field as Obi, in a different section of the stands, jumps up and races for the girls. Bo mutters something angrily and Satine slaps her, a small slap but still a slap non the less.   
Obi gets there first, moving between Satine and her younger sister, who turns on her heel and races away. Cody is close enough that he can hear Obi’s furious whispers.

“Why did you stop me? That stupid little bitch.” Satine states indignantly.

“No. No Satine. You don’t deserve your sister. You need to realise that. So, get your act together because I know I could never love someone like you because you don’t care about anyone but yourself.” He growls, staring her down. Satine gives in first, turning and storming away from the confrontation. Cody sees the slight shudder of anger that goes through Obi and his furious expression as he moves away and walks to Anakin, who stares after the girl with undisguised interest. He turns to look at where Bo left, deciding to go after her.

Cody walks up to the building, hearing a heavy thunk inside. He stops and the sound repeats, little sniffs and footsteps sounding alongside it. The door is open, and he steps through, staying in the shadowy building. A pair of lights swing above the figure on the floor, long red plait almost tied around her neck as she steps forward and hurls a knife at the small dented and marked target. Once the knife sinks into the target she storms forward to retrieve it, dashing angry tears from her eyes while yanking the knife, hilt deep, out of the board. The red plait falls undone, long tumbling red strands dancing around her teary face, and she growls. Her hand holding the knife whips up, brushing her neck as she presses it against the muted strands. She freezes like that, pressing the knife into her neck, little drops of bright red blood rising underneath it, before twirling it away and tossing it into the corner of the room. She drops like a stone, crumpling to her knees on the mat with her soccer uniform, dirty and stained, still on. Her sobs come fast, hiccups escaping. Tears pour down her face and she kneels on the floor, long braid falling over one shoulder. She shoves it away. Cody steps forward.

“Bo?” He asks. Bo-Katan, pride of the Nite Owls, looks up, making no attempt to try and wipe away the evidence of her sorrow, plastered across her sharp face.

“Cody? How long have you been here?” She sniffs, wrapping her arms around her abdomen, as if attempting to protect herself from blows. He walks across the mats, stopping in front of her.

“Long enough.” She nods sadly, rocking back and forth slightly. He leans down, sitting next to her. “You looked like you wanted to put the knife into someone or something. Is it Satine?” He asks gently. She stops trying to keep her body upright and collapses sideways, hair pooling on the blue mats like a blood stain. 

“Have you seen the way she treats me? Uses my hair to pull me around, slaps me for not playing the one sport I like well enough. My sport. The one I picked up in order to escape from her. I can’t do it anymore Cody. She hurts me. I want her to never hurt me again. Mum and Dad never stopped her. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to cut my hair or...” Bo-Katan whispers hoarsely, tears forming in her big eyes. Cody pushes off the mat and walks to the corner where the knife lies discarded. He picks it up cautiously, eyeing the sharp blade before crossing to Bo-Katan.

“You wanted to cut your hair?” She nods at him, tears flooding. “Well you’re not doing that now. You could hurt yourself.” He points out and she nods, conceding the point. “I can do it.” She snaps up, pleading in her eyes. “I can cut it for you. I will if you want me too.” He offers. She breathes deeply, closing her eyes. When she opens them, a fierce resolve lies in there.

“I want you to. Cody please. I don’t trust myself. Make it do short that she can’t grab it again.” She begs. Cody nods, grasping the silky long strands, watching as they slide through his fingers and into the mess of a braid. He undoes it, lining the hair up to a level before swiftly pulling the knife across. It cuts neatly, long red strands slipping through his hands and onto the mat. The hair swings and he cuts it level. The bob, ends at the neck to shoulder joint, moving as she tilts her head and attempts to grab it. It’s too short for her to grab it effectively and she nods neatly, hair floating over a shoulder.

“Thank you.” She breathes, watching as the strands flutter to the floor. The door slides open behind them and he shoots up. A small girl with a braid and a dirty soccer uniform steps through the door with a girl whose black hair is pulled into a knot at the back of her head. 

“Bo-Katan? Are you in here?” Ahsoka asks, seeing the girl on the floor with hair pooled at her knees and sprits forward, slipping onto her knees and sliding the remainder of the way to her friend.

“Ursa. Ahsoka.” Bo breathes, relaxing into the grip of her fellow Nite Owls. Cody stands, turning to Ahsoka.

“She was crying, and I wanted to make sure she was OK after what Satine did to her so I went to see her and she was holding a knife onto her neck and she nearly hurt herself. A haircut was a compromise.” He whispers, watching Ahsoka race through the stages of worry. She nods, placing a hand onto his shoulder.

“Thanks Cody. You should get back to Republic.” Her eyes twitch to the pile of Mandalorian on the floor and she releases him. “I meant what I said to Obi Wan by the way.” He freezes and shrugs at her. A small smile starts, and she taps his hand. “If you want to know, you have to ask him. Thank you for helping Bo-Katan.” She smiles softly and turns away from him, walking to her friend and dropping next to her.

Cody walks out into the cool night air and makes up his mind. He will ask Obi Wan what Ahsoka said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm to everyone who's read and supported this story :)


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody gets a hangover. When he thinks his day can't get any worse, here comes Obi Wan.

Cody rubs at the sore spot on the back of his right shin. Fives, having lost yet another game of Uno, had kicked Cody over, right as he stood up to get the cards that had been thrown everywhere, making him fall and smack his the back of his fragile shin directly onto the pointy end of the table. A drunken Jesse had laughed himself silly at it, causing Rex to smack him, which started a brawl between the four that led to multiple bruises, one black eye, torn Uno cards and a broken beer bottle. Echo and a very very tired Kix had come back within the hour. Echo had been bouncing off the walls with the amount of coffee he’d drunk. And Kix, eyes bleary and little shadows growing underneath them, had scolded them for what felt like an hour before sending them all off to bed. Cody had woken up the next morning at about 11 am, crawled out from under Jesse, Rex and Fives, and immediately regretted the drinking Uno game. His headache showed no sign of stopping, and when he attempted to ask Kix for medicine, the passed out on the couch medical student had just flipped him off and swore in two languages. So, here he is, contemplating whether to walk down the stairs or catch the lift. The lift doors slide open and he makes a split-second decision, leaping inside and dropping his heavy work bag. It thunks against the ground and he winces, thinking about his textbooks. 

“Wait! Can you hold the doors?” A yell comes from the floor and he reaches out, smacking his hand against the closing door and stopping it in its tracks. A head of unruly auburn hair spiking in all directions appears. His alert ocean blue eyes catch who is in the lift and he steps backward, swallowing awkwardly. “Ah, just go. I can catch the next one.” He goes to walk away and Cody sighs. In his head, he imagines punching Obi Wan so hard that he goes unconscious. Or until he gives him answers. But he can’t do that. And Ahsoka told him to talk to him.

“Fine, feel free to wait. But we’re both late to class, and if you don’t want to get murdered by Palpatine, I suggest you get in the lift.” Cody says casually, removing his fingers from the doors one by one, pointedly ignoring Obi’s gaze. Obi looks torn, hands crumpling the hem of his sweater with anxiety. He bites anxiously at his lip then steps into the lift, dropping his stuff on the floor. 

“Thanks.” He whispers. His eyes flick everywhere, and Cody decides to put him out of his misery. Obi decides the same thing.

“What did Ahsoka say to you?” They ask it at the exact same time. Obi gestures for Cody to talk, and Cody rolls his eyes. 

“She told me that I had to talk to you to find out what she said. Why? What did she say to you?” He can’t stop the almost defensive tone from creeping in and Obi ducks his head, putting his hands in his pockets. 

“She called me stupid.”

“She was right.” Cody cuts in, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Obi. 

“That’s harsh.” Obi objects. To Cody’s slight surprise, he doesn’t seem offended or angry. This isn’t what he planned. He planned to confront Obi when he was strong, and when he did imagine confronting Obi, yelling and swearing at him, he always though that Obi would fight back. Not just sit there and take the hits that Cody throws. It makes him feel sad. For exactly one second. 

“I’m being realistic.” He replies, pushing his curls off his forehead. Obi’s eyes strike him, full power of his soft affection. They meet his eyes and Cody is the first to look away. The ocean blue tinted globes trail all the way up to his curls, then settle on the knuckles of his hand.

“What happened to your hand?” Obi asks, then seems to freeze. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” 

“I beat the hell out of the heaviest boxing bag in the gym, without taping my hands or wearing gloves.” Cody states calmly, pulling out his phone. Ten new messages from the group chat. He ignores them and just taps away at the screen until he hears Obi swear quietly.

“Shit. Why’d you do that?” He mutters. Obi's fingers tremble and he shoves them into his pockets. 

“I just wanted to feel something again.” He shrugs, turning off his phone. 

“Oh God. That... That was the day after the party. I saw your brothers and you. Wolffe told me off. Oh no. That was my fault. Oh Codes…” The words pour out of Obi's mouth and he takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. 

“I don’t need your sympathy.” Cody forces out the words through his gritted teeth. The stupid part of him wants to kiss Obi, tell him he loves him again. But he just keeps his face straight and breathes. 

“I know.” Obi whispers. A small chime comes from the lift, text popping up in the animated screen. Cody jumps slightly. In an almost mocking text, it tells all occupants to choose a floor. He wants to smack himself. How, how on earth could he be that stupid? Forgot to choose the floor because of his boyfriend, ex boyfriend? He jabs out a finger and chooses the bottom floor. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Obi, who seems to be holding back laughter slightly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Look, I already thought you hit the button. I was..... distracted.” He manages to choke out the words before descending into laughter, pressing his back against the wall. Cody can feels his lips twitching up and down as he attempts to restrain his laughter. He bites his lip hard and makes his face settle, right as the door slides open. The bag gets picked up and he goes to storm out, trying to look furious. Obi reaches out and then pauses, withdrawing his hand and shoving it back into his jean pockets. 

“Cody…” He cuts himself off and takes a long breath. “Cody, I know I’m probably not the person you want to see now, or ever, and I fully understand that. Please hear me out though. Codes, I’m so sorry. But I need to tell you stuff. So you understand what happened. And I’m so sorry that it happened.” Obi says. Cody looks at him. He’s known Obi for a while now. And his ex-boyfriend wouldn’t have done what he did without some sort of reason. Cody doesn’t care exactly what the reason is, just wants one. Someone walks around the corner and he slides his hand in to stop the door. It’s Wolffe, and his cousin looks pissed off. Shit.

“Look. Can we talk later?” He hisses and Obi nods frantically. “Meet me by the Humanities block at seven. I’ve got class and shit until then, so deal with it.” Obi nods again and Cody storms out, meeting his cousin in the corridor.

“Is he fucking bothering you?” Wolffe mutters as they walk away.

“Piss off you canine bastard.” Cody growls. His cousin laughs at that, the absolute dickhead. He gets a smack on the back of the head and then a glare. Wolffe holds his hands up in mock surrender and laughs as they enter the sun. He can feel Obi’s gaze on the back of his neck and he turns slightly to catch a glimpse of him leaving the building. But when they lock eyes, to Cody’s surprise, the ocean blue globes are filled with remorse and just the glint of tears. 

Class ends, another class comes and goes. Cody spends about an hour studying, because if he fails the final exams, no one will find his body. Dinner is the usual chaos, Rex cooking for all of them and everyone cramming into their dorm to do so. Jesse and Fives sprawl on the couch, Kix sits on top of the kitchen counter, Echo pulls up a chair and sits next to Rex, who just sighs. Cody is curled in an armchair and he manages to take a large spoonful of the pasta before Jesse snatches it and gulps down the remaining food in the bowl.

“You little shit.” Cody says, blinking at the sudden attack. Jesse flicks his tongue out and gulps down the delicious food that was meant to be Cody’s.

“Oi, no swearing at the fucking dinner table.” Rex snaps. He rolls his eyes at the unfolding mess that will almost certainly happen. As if on cue, Jesse makes to grab Fives’s pasta. Fives dodges his swipe and hooks a leg up behind him, hurling him off the couch and onto his ass on the floor. It makes a loud thump and Echo and Kix wince. The floor below them has been complaining for months about “Those damn Fetts.”. Kix picks up the dishcloth from in the sink and hurls it at Fives’s head in the defence of his twin. It connects with a wet slapping sound and Jesse crows with laughter. Echo, still sitting serenely in a chair, reaches up and whacks Kix over the head with a patent folder for some prosthetic thing, like he’s swatting a particularly annoying fly. Kix shoots out one leg and just kicks Echo’s chair over. Echo falls on the ground, narrowly avoiding spilling his pasta. Rex just sighs and continues eating. 

“If any one of you idiots spills pasta that I was kind enough to make you, on my damn floor, I will commit murder. Now fucking clean up. Alright?” He says the words through a mouthful of pasta. Everyone nods neatly, and then the tension seeps away. Echo gets up off the floor and sits back on the chair, catching the wet cloth that Fives hurls at him, and passing it up to Kix, who just tosses it back in the sink. Jesse rolls over on the floor and collects his bowl of pasta off the couch. Kix drops off the counter and onto a stool, reading the paperwork over Echo’s shoulder. Cody sighs at it, one family dinner after another, this always happens. A little ping comes from his phone and they all sit up, ridiculously alert. Cody can feel the stares of five siblings on him, and he fishes for his phone in his pocket. The time reads six fifty, and he checks the notification. It’s an alarm that he must have set. Meet Obi Wan. 

He uncurls from the chair and crosses the kitchen, fully aware of the eyes tracking him. The bowl gets rinsed and dropped in the dishwasher, and he disappears into his bedroom. A random hoodie, light green with little embroidered flowers, gets tossed over the top of his Galactic Conflict shirt, and he comes out of the bedroom. All eyes immediately swing to Cody again as he walks into the bathroom. He rolls his eyes and grabs a hairbrush, neatening up the mess of curly strands. When he emerges from there, the silent judgement is hideous and he plants his hands on his hips and glares down his siblings. 

“What? Haven’t you kids ever seen me brush my hair before?” Cody says sarcastically. Echo and Kix just shrug and go back to their pasta and paperwork. Jesse and Fives begin yet another argument about who the superior soccer player in the league is, and Rex doesn’t move his eyes at all.

“You’re going to see Obi Wan.” He states. Every scrap of movement and noise in the dorm stops and Cody raises his eyes to stare down his brother. 

“So what if I am?” 

“He was making out with that Kryze girl. We all saw the video.” Rex has a dangerous tint in his tone, one that usually symbolises that he’s about to commit some sort of crime.

“I know. But Ahsoka told me to talk with him. And Bo Katan told me that her sister is an absolute bitch who was jealous of me and Obi. She thought that Satine probably drugged his drink.” Cody can’t stop the defensive sound of his words. Rex raises his eyebrows and sighs.

“I’m not going to be able to change your mind, am I?” He asks. Cody shakes his head stubbornly. “I don’t want you to get hurt Codes. None of us do. If you have to go and get some closure, fine then, but please, for dad’s sake, don’t get back together with him. He comes withing three kilometres of our house and he’s going to get shot.” Rex sounds defeated and just takes another bite of pasta as Obi nods and walks out of the door.

The Humanities block at night is absolutely gorgeous. Metal and glass twirl together to make a modern looking building while brick and vines tether it back down to earth. Cody makes for a bench almost hidden by a rose bush and sits down on it. It doesn’t escape his notice that the bench has little love hearts carved into it. The irony shocks him. A little cough grabs his attention and he sees Obi, walking around the corner. Obi sees him and smiles softly. It just breaks Cody’s heart all over again.

“Hi. Am I early?” Obi asks, twisting his hands.

“No, you’re on time.” 

“Right.” A silence engulfs them and Cody uses it to take a deep breath. Obi breaks it first. “I wanted to tell you what happened.”

“I know what happened. There’s video evidence of what happened.” Cody can’t help but snap. His words strike Obi hard and he flinches. 

“I know. But I just wanted to tell you it from my point of view.” They fall into a restless silence again until Obi looks up from his hands. “I can’t remember that night. I remember being at the party with you, then going to say goodbye and having one drink. That’s not enough to fuck up my memory. Something else happened, I wouldn’t kiss Satine. She’s an absolute bitch when you see past her façade. She hurts everyone around her and doesn’t take no for an answer. I’m sorry for bringing you here and stuff, but I love you, and I understand you not wanting me back and wanting to never see me again.” He turns to leave and Cody shoots to his feet, grabbing his ex’s hand. 

“Wait. I went to see Bo Katan. She told me that Satine was jealous and she got you drunk and kissed you on purpose. And said that she probably drugged your drink.” Cody blurts out. His hand is closed around Obi’s wrist and he can feel the strong pulse against his fingers. Obi Wan looks relieved.

“She did? That solves it. I am so sorry Cody.” 

“No, it doesn’t solve the fact that you cheated on me. That’s what pisses me off here.” He yelps. He drops Obi’s wrist and flops back onto the bench, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“I know. But I still love you. And I know you don’t love me, and I betrayed your trust. I just want to be friends now. Please.” Obi sounds torn, eyes tearing up. 

“I still love you. But I don’t trust you. We can still be friends, but I will have to try my hardest to not sic my family on you because they do want to kill you.”

“Your brothers glare at me in the corridors all the time. Same with your cousins. And I think your dad wants to shoot me.” Obi remarks. It brings a smile to Cody’s face despite everything. 

“Yeah they want to murder you and drop your body in a shallow grave.” Cody snorts, wiping a tear that slips free away.

“I deserve it.” Obi says frankly. Cody starts in shock. “I deserve having them hate me, want to kill me. But I love you, and I want you to trust me again. So please let me have another chance. Not as boyfriends, just as friends.” He considers it, running a hand through his curls. He does love Obi, and he knows deep in his heart that Obi wouldn’t cheat on him. Start as friends and then maybe become something else.

“Alright, let’s start over. Friends for now. My name is Cody Fett.” He places his hand out and smiles slightly. Obi grabs his hand and shakes it.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Obi Wan Kenobi.” They shake hands before Cody breaks away, checking his phone.

“I better go. My brothers were going nuts when I left.”

“Right. See you around?”

“I’ll come find you.” Cody says, disappearing into Coruscant as Obi begins to cry, dropping onto the bench and burying his face into his jumper. The small smile drops from his face and he dashes away the tears, almost punching at his eyes with the viciousness of his motions. He hates it, hates himself, hates the fact that he lost Cody’s trust, and that he won’t ever get that back.

Cody waits until he gets inside Coruscant to cry. He presses his back against the wall and lets out shuddering breaths. He still loves him. And it feels right. Despite everything, he still loves him. Damn, damn his stupid stupid heart. Cody drops his face into his hands and lets out tears for everything he lost. He sits there for a while, before drying his face on his sweater and standing up, ready to start again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm thinking of wrapping this up in a few chapters, so let me know about anyone you'd like to see in the final few chapters. Thanks again for reading, I love all of you :)


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exams are finally over. Rex attempts to bring his entire family to the Pantora Ice Rink as a celebration. That goes down just as well as expected. The mess goes even worse when Cody realizes that the entire soccer contingent of his University has booked the rink at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I would like to apologise for not posting in ages. Explanation in end notes.  
> I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my real life Hunt.  
> Read to the end for some notes :)

Cody goes over the text message for the fourth time in three minutes. The Fett Clan Jnr GC is buzzing for the first time in a while. Everyone had been distracted by their own lives, then exams, then other work, and then eventually more exams. Cody had finished all of his exams. Modern history had been the most trying and irritating to complete. An essay on a current affair demonstrated by a political cartoon. Seventeen short answer questions, and a thesis on a view of historical political extremism.  
The thing occupying his mind the most during the whole situation was Obi. Obi Wan, who came back into his life. It had taken a while for Cody to even attempt forgiveness. Most of his family wanted to kill Obi anyways. Normal sibling stuff. Wolffe had actually punched him when he told him, trying to physically knock sense back into him. It hadn’t worked. And Cody had a particularly large bruise on his cheek for a few days after the incident. Many people had asked why, and he’d said it was a sparring accident. Family. So difficult at times.  
A tiny ping comes from his phone as yet another text arrives in the Group Chat. It takes him a second to build up the will to open it. 

Fett Clan Jnr Group Chat  
Smexy Rexy: Everyone’s done with exams right?  
Jesse messy: Kix and Helix still have the medical ones  
Waxering: Yeah  
Waxering: Give them an hour or a bit  
Heelix: We’re done btw  
Kixystix: Oi. I don’t fucking want to do anything  
Kixystix: Rex, if you’re about to attempt to drag us off campus for a fucking celebration, I will murder you on the spot  
Kixystix: I have gotten three hours of sleep in the last four days; I have more blood than coffee in my system and I currently want to commit murder  
Jesse messy: Don’t you mean more coffee than blood?  
Kixystix: Where the fuck is my knife?  
Jesse messy: Please, no murder  
Kixystix: Test me  
Smexy Rexy: Don’t be a little bastard child  
Smexy Rexy: I was going to tell you that I booked the ice rink  
Kixystix: Do I look like I want to use a fucking ice rink?  
High Fives: Ice rink?  
Wooooolffe: Ice rink!  
Waxering: Are we all invited or is this a kids of Jango only kinda thing?  
Boiling with anger: I wanna do it too  
Boba tea: I hate you all  
Smexy Rexy: Alright idiots, listen the fuck up because I’m only going to say this once  
Smexy Rexy: Pantora Ice Rink, at four pm, on seventeenth of December  
Stinky Sinky: You’re assuming I have any idea what date it is  
Smexy Rexy: That’s Sunday for you uncultured swine  
Stinky Sinky: And now you assume I have any idea of what the fucking day is  
Boosted: It’s Wednesday  
Heelix: Excuse those idiots  
Ponds: What the hell are you two on?  
Wooooolffe: It’s obviously Friday you fools  
Blyndly in love: I can’t believe I am related to all of you  
Wooooolffe: You better believe it  
Smexy Rexy: For some reason, I agree with Bly  
Smexy Rexy: But you idiots need to listen tf up or I will throw hands  
Smexy Rexy: Ice rink is booked, for five pm. Pantora Ice Rink  
Smexy Rexy: Be there or I sic Wolffe on you

He switches onto the chat with Rex. Maybe he could avoid it if he begged his twin. That’s always worth a shot.

Rexter  
Codes: Do I have to go to the Ice Rink?  
Smexy Rexy: I will beat your ass and hurl you off the roof of your stupid dorm block if you don’t show up  
Codes: Have I mentioned that I hate you so much?  
Smexy Rexy: Yes  
Smexy Rexy: Many many many times  
Smexy Rexy: Get over here dumbass  
Smexy Rexy: Invite anyone if you need someone to chill with so you don’t glare at me the whole damn time

The messages end there, and Cody fights the urge to smack his twin. Does it look like he wants to go to an ice rink? An idea hits him and he sighs, exiting out of the chat and opening up the one with Obi Wan. He and Obi had been staying up late to study, and they had video chatted almost every night until someone fell asleep on their desk. There’s two notifications from Obi. A meme about political alignments, and then him asking if all of Cody’s exams are done.

Obi  
Obi: Hey, you all done yet?  
Codes: Yeah I finished a few days ago  
Codes: Legit so worried about failing these things  
Obi: You would’ve done amazing  
Obi: You’re amazing at everything that you do  
Obi: If you fail these exams, I will literally eat my hat  
unread 4.07 pm  
Obi: You always do amazingly well at every single thing you attempt  
Obi: That’s one of the reasons you are such a good person  
Codes: Don’t test me  
Codes: I will start crying my eyes out  
Obi: I know you did amazing  
Codes: Will cry  
Codes: But I have other stuff  
Codes: My brother is doing this kinda thing to celebrate exams being over  
Obi: Will I get murdered on sight by your family?  
Codes: Your safety isn’t fully guaranteed  
Codes: Do it for the vine  
Obi: I’ll come  
Obi: What thing?  
Codes: Pantora Ice Rink  
Codes: We’re going to go skating for a while  
Obi: You’re kidding right?  
Codes: Nah.  
Codes: At five pm today  
Codes: Why?  
Obi: Both soccer teams booked it as well  
Obi: For all of their partners and everyone  
Codes: Ah  
Codes: I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me  
Obi: I can meet you there  
Codes: That would be nice  
Codes: I would love that

Rexter  
Codes: Sup bastard, Obi’s coming  
Codes: And we will have heaps of company  
Smexy Rexy: Right  
Cody: Don’t you want to know….  
Smexy Rexy: C’mon you cryptic asshole, just tell me already  
Codes: The soccer teams booked it out earlier  
Smexy Rexy: Fuck  
Smexy Rexy: Well fucking fucking fucking fuckity fuck  
Smexy Rexy: That’s just going to be absolutely great 

His brother sounds exasperated, even through text. He exits that chat as well and stands up. Cody pulls his golden sun sweater on, adjusting his loose black high waisted jeans. The collar of his shirt is stuck under it. It takes some fiddling and swearing to tug it free and fluff it out. Strands of his hair stand up in every direction, messy in the late afternoon light pouring through his bedroom window. It’s been a week of perfect summer weather, resulting in the fans being on at every hour of the day and night. Cody makes sure the window is shut firmly. Mosquitos would kill him in his sleep. Then he yanks on boots and a cap. The cap has the logo of Tup and Hardcases’ soccer club. Curls get stuffed into the cap and the brim scrapes slightly against his forehead.  
He pulls boots onto his feet. Then he snatches up keys and clips them onto his belt loops before shoving his phone into one pocket. Rex had finished the exams a few days earlier than Cody, but his work still scatters the living room table. The entire dining room is taken up by Kix’s notes. Piles and piles cover every inch of the table. The stacks are organised into different body parts and procedures. Sticky notes in every fluro shade cover the stacks. One has several drawings of dicks on it. Jesse’s work. Obviously. Kix had only fled to Cody and Rex’s kitchen table because of Jesse having finished all of his exams early and winding up irritating Kix until he punched his sibling in the sensitive spot, resulting in a 2 am brawl as Kix attempted to do his study. Kix had abused his medical knowledge in order to give his brother some slight injuries where it hurts the most, then grabbed all of his notes and picked the lock into Cody and Rex’s dorm room.  
That had resulted in Rex throwing a folder at Kix’s head when he discovered his brother sitting there using the coffee machine while cross legged on the counter in the dark room. Cody had had to break up the ensuring fight by turning off the coffee machine. Both of them ended up screaming at him instead. Tampering with a Fett’s coffee machine is a crime punishable by death.  
Door slamming shut behind him, Cody hops down the corridor while pulling on his shoe. There’s hardly anyone still around. Flyers had gone out about a party in the Mustafar Dorms, Seperatist University. Anakin had nearly gone. Well, more accurately, he had gone only for Padme to drag him back home by his ear. Obi was both impressed and irritated by his friend’s exploits. Cody had received about ten videos and commentary.  
He scans around. It doesn’t look hot outside. But the weather is deceptive recently. Cody sighs, tucking his hands into his pockets, and steps outside. Heat hits him like a thick wet blanket. It's suffocating, drowning him beneath it's weight. Waves and waves of heat swirl around him. He curses quietly and instantly regrets his decision to put on a jumper. Damn. The bus stop is a good two hundred metres away. Might as well. Cody sprints for it.  
He’s out of breath when he gets there. The pass gets scanned and he sits on the seat, kicking at his shoes anxiously. Its seven minutes until his stop. Keys jangle on his belt. He pulls out the phone again.

Fett Clan Jnr Group Chat  
Smexy Rexy: Hurry the fuck up you lot  
Codes: Soccer teams are coming as well  
High Fives : Yeah  
High Fives: No shit  
Ponds: Partners are invited as well  
Waxering: Can we bring our partners?  
Wooooolffe: Ex-fucking-cuse me?  
Wooooolffe: Did someone finally get some?  
Waxering: A) That is very vulgar  
Waxering: B) And I have realised I hate that I’m related to you  
Blyndly in love: You just realised that?  
Watering: C) Yes I have a girlfriend  
Codes: And when exactly where you going to tell us?  
Waxering: Never  
Waxering: You all suck and you’d bully me ☹  
Wooooolffe: No, we wouldn’t  
Waxering: You expect me to believe that bullshit?  
Stinky Sinky: Yep  
Boosted: Believe us  
Comety: Bad decision  
Comety: Don’t you ever trust them  
Comety: Please don’t fucking trust them  
Comety: Please don-  
Waxering: Oh shit  
Boiling in anger: Is he dead?  
Heelix: Did Comet just get murdered?  
Heelix: I don’t know how to bring an idiot back to life  
Kixystix: Oi  
Kixystix: Who just murdered my little cousin?  
Kixystix: I will stab you  
Boosted: Not so long ago, I lost my little brother  
Comety: Quit telling everyone I’m dead  
Comety: I will slap you  
Boosted: Sometimes I can swear I still hear his voice  
Boba Tea: I swear to god that I hate all of you  
Smexy Rexy: Says the person who has bailed some of us out of jail multiple times  
Boba Tea: And I hated every moment of doing those trips  
Ponds: Multiple?  
Echo echo echo: Long story  
Echo echo echo: You don’t want to know  
Waxering: Now you have us all wanting to know  
Jesse Messy: Well, it all started when Wolffe and Rex went out drinking and then ended up wandering around half naked at two am  
Smexy Rexy: I will murder you  
Wooooolffe: I know how to hide a body  
Heelix: As a medical student, I feel morally obliged to discourage you  
Kixystix: If you wanna commit a murder, can you not fucking plan it in a group chat?  
Heelix: Thanks Kix  
Kixystix: I need some fucking plausible deniability  
Kixystix: Plan it elsewhere  
Heelix: Bruh

Cody has to hold back a little laugh at his little siblings antic. Sometimes, you’d think that a medical student wouldn’t encourage murder. Then you meet Kix. He glances up from his phone and hits the button. The Pantora Ice Rink flies past in a daze of colour and he swears quietly. Damn. Now he has to walk in the stifling heat. 

It isn’t until the large doors slide shut behind him does Cody feel cool again. He shivers in the sweater, even though it must be a solid ten degrees less. Yells come from the skating rink, a few members of either his family or the soccer team skating in circles. It takes him a moment to realise that Rex is leaning next to the doors. Cody jumps out of his skin. Shit. His brother is leaning back in his Jaig Eyes sweater. Close cropped blond hair gleams under the over head fluorescent lighting. A pair of blue skates dangle from one hand. He nods at Cody.  
“Glad to see you finally dragged yourself out of a book.” Rex says sarcastically. He pushes off the wall and adjusts his jumper with his spare hand. Cody flips him off. The lady at the desk just nods when he selects a pair of shoes. Gold and yellow skates, ones that make him want to cry from how pretty they are. Number 212 according to the little plate on the side.  
“I’m better than ever. And I am fully ready to whoop your ass at skating.”  
“Bring it on bastard.”

Anakin leans into Padme as they walk, side by side, down the street. For the one of the first times, he lets her hold his prosthetic. It works like a charm, telling him the basic textural and material structure of objects, as well as temperatures. Bit fiddly to get on and off, but what can one do? Padme drops his hand briefly, adjusting the collar of her white overalls. They look elegant, long white overalls over a silver long sleeved shirt. Her long curly dark hair is up in a braided crown, revealing her clear skin under the sun.  
He feels drab next to her, in the simple Republic University, The Council, sweater. His single neat pair of black jeans and boots. Plus his hair is actually combed for once. She seems to notice his anxiety and turns, squeezing his hand.  
“It’s alright Ani. You look amazing.” Padme’s gentle words sooth him. He nods, fighting the tears that rise.  
“I love you.” Anakin chokes the words out from behind the tears.  
“I love you too.” She whispers back. He makes a split second decision. Fishing through his pocket comes up with a small necklace.  
“Padme, you know how I said that you look like an angel?” Her nod encourages him. Right. Carved metal falls into his fingers. Anakin pulls out the necklace and smiles softly. “I made this for you. It’s angel wings. Because you’re an angel. And you need your wings.” She gasps. He gently holds it out to his girlfriend. Padme takes it, brushing her fingers against his hand. She slides it over her neck and plays with the charm softly.  
“I….” Her voice trails off and she lets out a rough breath. “Ani…. Thank you. I love you. It… You have no idea how much this means to me… Thank you so much.” Her pausing stutter makes Anakin want to kiss her. It’s the first time he’s seen her flustered in quite a long time. Usually she never, never would let anything interrupt her thoughts. He gently takes her hand and squeezes it with his prosthetic. Padme stands on her tip toes and leans into him. Her kiss is like diving into ice cold water. Shocking. Calming. Relaxing. At the same time as panicking. Every nerve in his body attempts to fire at the same time. It’s perfect. Love.

Ahsoka fastens her double braids back off her face with a orange and white striped headband. Another spluttering sound comes from the bike she’s working on and she grabs a spare spanner off the ground. Swearing cuts over the splutters. Kaeden, having just slid out from under the car propped up in the main shop, wipes her oil stained hands on a towel. The towel gains several black and multi coloured streaks of incriminating liquid. Kaeden boots the tire with her steel cap shoes. Her glare could melt through the rubber. Ahsoka has come to like that glare. But not when it’s directed at her. Then it’s something that makes her want to crawl under the nearest car and cry. Her exams had finished the Thursday prior, and then every single day had been spent at the car shop. It had been fun to spend so much time with Kaeden. She’d learnt new swear words on the other hand. Kaeden tended to get a bit upset when a particular part of the car that she was a hundred percent sure was the problem, was in fact not a problem at all.  
A tiny ping goes off on Ahsoka’s phone. It’s balanced precariously on a bench cluttered with tools. Her hands are deep in the underside of the bike when Kaeden coughs.  
“You gonna get that?” Her dry question makes Ahsoka smirk.  
“Nah. You can though. Pass code is zero three nine eight.” Kaeden nods and opens up her phone, before crouching next to Ahsoka.  
“Oi. Text from Anakin? He says something about an Ice Rink today.” Ahsoka ignores her until another ping goes off. “Another text. Bitchy demon? I’m just going to take a guess and say that that’s Melia. Same thing. Ice Rink.” Yet another ping sounds and Kaeden whistles. “You are very popular today. That’s from someone called Aayla?” That gets Ahsoka’s attention and she pushes out from under the bike. Kaeden drops the oil cloth onto her. Her hands get wiped.  
“Come again?”  
“I think that shitty music you play is murdering your hearing.” She gets flipped off before she tosses the phone to Ahsoka. 

Aayla  
Aayla: Hi. I know this may seem really sudden, but I was wondering if you wanted to come to the Defenders soccer wrap up. You deserve to be there. I think the other girls would like it.  
Aayla: Look, it’s today at the Pantora Ice Rink at four. Please come. 

The messages make Ahsoka roll her eyes. Why now? Why after months of ignoring and almost radio silence from them, did they have to call now?  
“You going to go?” Kaeden asks, already grabbing keys to their car.  
“No. I think it might just make me miss them even more. And then I would go running back to the Republic University like a little dog.”  
“I can come with you. Invite Bo-Katan and Ursa. Hell, even Rook. We can make sure you stay with us.” She brushes a hand on Ahsoka’s and Ahsoka turns to her. The little smile grows until Kaeden withdraws her hand. “That’s the evil plan smile. Nuh huh. No way are you pulling me into whatever evil thing you’re planning.”  
“Do you want to come?” Ahsoka asks, shooting to her feet and undoing her hair. The gaze she gets back is slightly suspicious until Kaeden shrugs.  
“Might as well. It’s dead here.” She grabs her leather jacket off the coat stand and shuts the door behind them.

Ponds laughs on the ice, skating elegantly away from his boyfriend. Mace holds onto the side railing with a grip of steel. Almost hauling himself along the wall. It would be hilarious if he weren’t shaking. Ponds executes his most elegant turn yet and races back to Mace. His boyfriend accepts the held out hand, squeezing it with all the force possible. He leans over and kisses his partner on the nose. The negative thoughts are silent for once. It’s peaceful to have a clear head. And even better when it’s with someone you love.

Obi lets the door slide shut behind him. He grabs the skates slid across the counter to him, tying up the golden laces. Cody’s already on the ice down there, doing little twirls as he attempts to keep his balance. His brother seems wholly unsympathetic, laughing away as he skates. Cody looks up and sees Obi Wan, face breaking into a grin. Something in his heart tugs painfully. He hates these emotions. 

Melia, wearing a skirt that’s outrageously short for skating, and a crop top with Fives’s jacket over the top, jumps onto the ice. Her motions are not the neatest and she proceeds to slide onto her ass. Fives laughs, the sleeves of Melia’s jacket rolled up to his elbows. He hauls her up onto her feet. That results in her blowing a raspberry while she dusts carved up ice off her legs. She prods him in the ribs. Pained wincing makes her laugh before she spins on a toe and skates away as fast as she can.

Fox watches the person skating on the other end of the rink. She’s elegant, long pastel purple hair swirling around her as she turns, holding one leg up in the air. Her skin-tight skating uniform shows off the muscle in her arms and legs. Gold and turquoise streaks up her dark purple uniform glimmer as she executes yet another turn, this time leaping into the air and landing with her leg swinging. The golden headband holds her hair back from her face. It isn’t until she slides to a stop and ties up her hair that Fox recognises her.  
Riyo Chuchi. The intelligent and quick girl in his lectures that is always the first to speak out against some mistreatment or injustice in politics. Those golden eyes underlined with purple eyeliner and eyeshadow. Winged eyeliner that looks as if someone could fashion a weapon out of it. Her hair gets yanked into one hand, twirled into a deadly looking bun held in place with a golden scrunchie. Then those intelligent eyes flick to him and his heart stops.  
The flecks of gold in her deep eyes are visible from even across a rink. Those assessing eyes that seem to strip Fox of everything in his head and lungs. No emotion is in them. It's like she's testing him. Suddenly they just move away, scanning over the rest of the Fetts before pushing back off the wall and into a series of stunning twirls, skates rasping against the ice.  
“Oi Fox! Get your ass over here!” Wolffe’s voice snaps through the air. Riyo's eyes whip back to him, mild annoyance in them this time. As if it's his fault that a group of rowdy Fetts have invaded her precious ice rink. He ignores her. But as he's walking away, he can’t shake the lingering gaze. 

Ahsoka opens the car door. Her canines tear into her innocent nails with viciousness. Kaeden, secure in her leather jacket, tuts a reprimand. It would infuriate her if it were anyone but Kaeden. Pantora Ice Rink. Truly the worst place in the city to get parking. They had a two-hour lot, and Kaeden stabs the little parking ticket into her pocket.  
Heat engulfs both of them. Ahsoka is glad for her short overalls. Kaeden, on the other hand, is sweating in her heavy leather jacket and cargo pants. Even her boots look painfully thick. Heavy as well. She swings the keys into her pocket.  
The rink doors slide open and cold hits her. It feels like a wet blanket. Diving into a pool in winter. The same feeling after a good soccer training in the pouring rain. It seems perfect. Until she meets Anakin’s gaze. Her friend’s mouth drops into a gasp. Melia, Aayla, even Bultar. Bultar avoids her gaze. That’s fine with Ahsoka.  
Mask. Have to mask it. She drags up a memory of what it feels like to win a game and sets it aflame on her face. Kaeden seems to flinch at the sudden transformation. And then Melia is there, tossing her arms around Ahsoka.  
“You made it.”  
“I wasn’t sure if I’d be welcomed or shunned.” Ahsoka drawls. Kaeden reaches across her and shakes Melia’s hand.  
“Hi. I’m Kaeden. I work with Ahsoka.” She deliberately dodges the whole owning the place thing. Her charming smile makes little butterflies take flight in Ahsoka’s stomach.  
“Welcome. You guys wanna get skates?” Melia drops back into the old dynamic, discussing the nightclubs around the Universities with Kaeden as Ahsoka finally starts to relax.

Cody stretches as he steps off the ice. His leg muscles still shake slightly from last race. Rex had been determined to beat him. It'd been close. Until Wolffe arrived. He'd nearly knocked both of them over. That’d resulted in yelled swear words, and a very patronising look from a skater practising a routine. She'd been staring at them for a while now. Drop dead beautiful. And from the way her and Fox seem to avoid looking at each other, something is going on.  
Cody can’t help but gaze around at the people who surround him.  
Padme, dressed entirely in white and silver, darts onto the ice. Anakin holds her hand with so much force that Cody is vaguely scared for the state of her bones. But she just laughs, new necklace swinging as she does a twirl and hugs Anakin.  
Ponds and Mace are separated a bit. Ponds grins as he speeds round the edge of the rink, narrowly beating both Melia and Fives in the little race. Mace watches him fondly, lovingly. They’re a strange pair. Ponds had always been quieter and more resigned as a child. He’d struggled with depression and anxiety. It'd taken quite a while to get him into therapy. It wasn’t until Mace saw a door room left open, an empty bottle of sleeping pills and a body on the floor did Ponds accept therapy. Medicine had helped. So had Mace. Being with Mace amped him up. Gave him energy. A reason to live. Mace had done so much for Ponds. That might mean that he's less of an asshole than usual. Cody still despises him though.  
Fox is staring out of the corner of his eyes at the skater. He’s standing timidly on the ice, bright red skates shining. He doesn’t seem to be fully confident on his skates, trembling slightly. It’s unusual to see Fox not in control of a situation. His method is usually taking control and solve any problem set in his way. But it appears that there’s some thing about the skating girl that scares him. Speaking of the devil, Padme skates over to the girl and hugs her. They delve into a conversation, skating over to the side so she can grab a drink bottle. That’s the moment when Fox slips and narrowly avoids landing on his ass. His face flushes and he stands back up, making his way off the rink and yanking his skates off.  
Melia twirls with Fives, hands linked as she laughs madly. Her hair is a good ten centimetres shorter, all the wavy blue ends chopped off. The remaining strands are swirled into a loose and messy bun at the nape of her neck. Fives looks down at her, serene smile on his face as he watches her movements. Melia and Ponds often have movie nights. It comforts both of them when their thoughts get too loud in their heads.  
Bly and Aayla have already done time on ice. Instead of skating, they sit on the side benches. Aayla's blue braids fall over Bly's shoulder and he has a gentle arm around her waist. She looks at peace. And he looks like he's deeply in love.  
Quilan Vos sits on the other side of the rink. His hand is intertwined with that of Asajj Ventresses. She lies down on her back, head in his lap as he traces her tattoos. The little yellow line over his nose gets gently caressed before he leans in and kisses her. Cody looks away.  
Even the latecomers are enjoying themselves. Ahsoka attempts to stand on the ice, only to slide and nearly fall over. Kaeden grabs her arms over the barrier, eyes meeting with a slight reprimand in them. It takes a while for Kaeden to let go. When she does, blush stains Ahsoka's cheeks tellingly. They’re so physically awkward that it hurts Cody to watch.  
Nite Owls crowd one side of the seats. Bo Katan looks happier now, cropped hair held back with a silvery thick headband. She leans on her friend, poking Ursa in the ribs. Rook glares at both of them fondly. It's relatable to Cody on so many levels. The one person who loves them like family but denies it. It all changes in a second when Bo Katan and Ursa start a slapping war and Rook smacks them both over the head.  
Water is there surprisingly, with a girl who has shockingly turquoise tipped box braids. Boil is saying something, probably trying to get under her skin, and she just grins back at him. That makes Waxer smile, hugging her close.  
Even Hunt is there. He is holding a hand out for one of the Defender substitute players, offering to help her onto the ice. Her dark red and brown hair swings out behind her. She’s short, and Hunt twirls her around. Melia soars over and spins the girl into a hug. Cody catches the name Esme.  
A little laugh comes from behind Cody and he spins around. Obi Wan leans on the edge of the rink. Grinning like a demon.  
“You done observing everyone?” He says. He gets reflexively flipped off.  
“I shall have you know that I am making sure my family isn’t doing anything stupid for the next ten minutes.” Cody pushes off the wall and stretches slightly.  
“Great. I can have ten minutes with you all to myself then.” Obi says it boldly, bowing before offering his hand to Cody. It makes him smile and he takes the hand.

Fox tears off a skate, nearly slicing off his finger from the force. A pair of legs come into his vision. The owner of said legs coughs. He glances up to Riyo. She's thrown a poncho over the top of her skating gear. And her usually placid or concentrating face is now angry.  
“Care to tell me what’s got you in such a mood that you’re taking it out on a pair of skates?” Riyo snaps bluntly, tugging her pastel purple poncho into place. Her skates hang from her other hand. Dark purple nails match on her toes and on her fingers. Purple underlined eyes focus on his. A question swirls through her eyes.  
“Pardon? He asks politely. Her neat golden eyes roll.  
“What made you angry? Those skates font deserve you abusing them.”  
Fox considers it. Best to lie. “I don’t know.”  
She scoffs. “Yeah, right. I think you do know. I’ve seen you in class. You don’t think that I can’t tell when you’re lying? Do you think I’m stupid?” Cynical undertones paint her voice. Both arms cross over her chest. Her bluntness shocks Fox yet again.  
He breathes in and out. Eyelids flick closed. Why was he angry? A single answer pops into his head.  
It should be easy.  
Skating should be easy. Things come easy to Fox. The academically gifted child. A pleasure to have in class. Never had to try. Always successful. Even University comes easy. Hell, even being a Guard is easy.  
This should be easy.  
Or maybe he’s just always secretly been a failure.  
“I want to be good.” It feels like a weight lifts off his back. He couldn’t tell anyone. They wouldn’t understand what it feels like to him.  
“Skating?”  
“Yeah. Hell, I should be good at this. I’m good at all sports. But this….” Fox gestures at the rink. She seems to understand.  
“This is different. Skating requires balance, coordination, focus. It takes time to be good at those. It’s different to soccer or boxing or something like that. You can’t just be perfect first try.” A degree of sympathy slips into Ryio’s voice and she tilts her head to the spare seat next to his. “Can I sit?” He nods. She slides down, staring at the rink with him.  
“Do you do this much?” Fox wants to slap himself for the question. Do you do this much? Sure, why not ask that to the girl who is in a full figure skating costume and customised skates.  
“I have been skating for three hours, four times a week since I was five. My collection of medals would be insulted.” She doesn’t seem offended though, smiling at the end of her sentence. The elegant way she flicks her hand and recentres her poncho shows him that she’s perfectly calm.  
“You have won stuff?”  
“Oh please. Don’t act so surprised. Just because you’re better than me academically.” Riyo sniffs and seems to make a decision, leaning down and pulling her first skate back on. “Put your skates on.”  
“Why?” Fox touches his bright skates surprisedly. She rolls her eyes.  
“I’m going to teach you how to skate.”  
Fox shakes his head. “No. I don’t want to go on the ice.” The thought of failure corrodes his head. Failing on the ice, so publicly, admitting weakness in front of his family. Thoughts pile up until an irate sigh cuts through.  
“From the debates in class, I wouldn’t think that you were the sort of person to give up after your first failure.” It’s a challenge. Her laces are tied and she tilts her head. “What are you scared of Fox? Me, the ice or failure?” Chuchi’s blunt question snaps through Fox’s muddled head like a whip lash. The skates are on his feet and tied before he even realises it. And then Riyo Chuchi shoves the gate open for Fox Fett, leading him onto the ice again,

Ahsoka pulls away from Kaeden in their little race. Anakin’s eyes bore into hers and she sighs slightly, jerking her head at the rink side. He nods.  
“Be back soon.” She says to Kaeden, who simply nods back. She makes her way over to Anakin. His eyes flick over her.  
“Are you alright? Are you safe?”  
“I’m fine.” Her voice comes out harsher than expected. Anakin winces.  
“You cut all of us off.” It’s a statement. She did. She didn’t mean to.  
“I didn’t mean to cut you off Anakin. I just needed some time to think and some plans to come up with.”  
“Did you find what you were looking for?” He follows her gaze over to Kaeden. A knowing smile grows on his face.  
“I think so.”  
“Good.” Anakin plunges forwards and ensnares her in a hug. It’s warm. Comforting. Tears threaten to overwhelm her. She just hugs back. “I want you to be happy Soka.”  
“I’m happy. I think I’ve found where I belong. Sorry it took a while.” They embrace for just long enough that tears glisten in both of their eyes when they skate away. Padme cups Anakin’s face and kisses him gently. Kaeden raises her eyebrows and says one thing.  
“Tell me what happened.” It makes Ahsoka sigh and nod. This might take a while. They skate off the rink, settling down on a bench.

Cody feels a hand brush his and he starts. The sport of watching people is getting tiring. And Obi is there. He skates back, smiling slightly.  
“You look very deep in though there. Want to share what is going round that magical head of yours?” His grin is captivating. It gleams and shines. Even his hair looks stunning. And he has to say it.  
“You.” Obi laughs, fiddling with his fingers. “No, I’m serious. You look amazing.” Cody smiles softly at his ex-boyfriend.  
“Stop kidding.” Obi replies. He leans next to Cody and reaches up, gently curling a strand of curly hair out of his eyes.  
“I’m not joking here. I think you look absolutely amazing. And I like it.” Those words make Obi blush again. “I’m glad I met you. You’ve been amazing. I think you saved my year. Even with the whole Satine thing. I still love you.” He lets the words he’s been holding in for days, weeks, months. Obi’s jaw drops and he reaches out.  
“C’mon. You shouldn’t love me.”  
“I know. But I do anyway. Just one word from you, and I will never say anything again, you will never see me again. You just need to tell me.” His hands find Obi’s. Gentle squeezes make Cody’s pulse soar. Obi closes his eyes.  
“I can’t tell you.” It makes Cody’s brain stop dead in it’s tracks. Did he just say what he thought he did? “I still love you as well. I think we just need some time to figure out where we sit after… Satine…” That sounds reasonable. He does need time to sort out the mess in his heart. It would probably be the same for Obi as well. He pushes off the wall and twirls to face Obi fully.  
“Deal. But can I just do this first?” Obi’s beginning question is cut off by Cody’s lips. He presses his lips against Obi’s softly, bracing one hand on the wall behind him. He pulls away briefly, looking at Obi. There’s a question in there. But it’s answered when Obi places his hand on Cody’s back, pulling him closer. The kiss deepens to the point of breathlessness. The mess in his heart loosens a bit. A whistle comes from behind them. It’s either Rex or Anakin. Probably both. Cody raises his middle finger at the exact same time as Obi. A tiny laugh escapes from Obi. It’s nearly a sob and Cody chokes back his own tears. Their foreheads click together, a traditional keldabe kiss that makes Cody want to cry.  
Time becomes fluid and empty. The only meaning, only balanced place in the storm is Obi. And Obi squeezes his hand. He’s home. Finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, I'm sorry for not posting this. I was quite sick and on mediccation for a while, then someone I knew committed suicide. This just disappeared for a bit. Sorry  
> Ik not all of you will read this, but I just want to say a massive thank you to every single person who has read this. I started this when I was in a bad place mentally, and now I have three books written or drafted and am starting a rewrite of this one. Thank you to everyone who commented or liked, you made my day every single time. I hope you liked reading this as much as I liked writing it.  
> I'm dedicating this to francis1 , CobraOnTheCob , and badgerandk because you were the first people to comment on my first actual fanfiction. If you're still reading this, thank you so much for coming on this journey with me.  
> Watch this space for a bit, because i have a planned sequel of this to but with the Rebels Crew and set at Imperial, Phoenix and Independent Universities.

**Author's Note:**

> Family Explained!  
> Cody is twins with Rex. His older brother is Boba. Echo and Fives, Kix and Jesse, Hardcase and Tup are his younger siblings. Jango is a very tired father.   
> Wolffe, Sinker and Boost, Comet are siblings, Plo is their dad.   
> Fox and Bly and Ponds, Thorn and Thire are brothers. Their father is Sifo Fett  
> Waxer and Boil, Helix, Crys are dumb ass siblings and Alpha is their dad.  
> After season 7 finale I had to write this. Anything is appreciated!


End file.
